<\/p>\n
While most toddlers spend their days having play dates and running around at the park, I battled cancer.\u00a0 At two and a half years of age, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and underwent chemotherapy treatments for two years.\u00a0 By age five, I had won the fight and entered remission.\u00a0 I am grateful that I have no real recollection of these troublesome times, and what I do vaguely remember is mostly through pictures and stories that my parents tell me.\u00a0 However, I have never forgotten or taken for granted the fact that I have been given a second chance at life.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This idea of a second chance has molded my life significantly.\u00a0 I decided early on in my teenage years that I would never consume alcohol, smoke, use drugs, or have premarital sex.\u00a0 After what my body had already gone through, I felt it was only right to treat it with the utmost respect.\u00a0 While many of my peers in high school deemed my morals radical, I knew that the risk of seeming “uncool” was absolutely no comparison to the damage that I could potentially do to my body.\u00a0 This was further strengthened for me when I attended a long term cancer survivor’s seminar, in which I met four people who had become addicted to alcohol and smoking after entering remission.\u00a0 I realized that the choices I had made were ones that may not stop side effects or cancer from recurring, would help me to stay healthy and focused on achieving a happy and successful life.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In order to achieve a truly happy and successful life, I needed to love my career choice.\u00a0 Starting college, my plans for the future seemed foggy.\u00a0 I knew that I wanted to help people and to make a difference in the world, but that was as far as I got.\u00a0 It wasn’t until the end of my first semester in my Career Explorations class that I received the answer I had been searching for.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
While researching positions in the social work field, I came across medical social work.\u00a0 This spiked my interest and I continued looking in the field.\u00a0 When I found the career title “Pediatric Oncology Social Work”, I was beyond ecstatic and began to research more.\u00a0 I had always wanted to give back to those that did so much for my family and tried doing so through volunteer work, but I never imagined I could do so professionally in this manner.\u00a0 As i learned more, I realized that this was the perfect fit for me. \u00a0 I also understood that the career would be a stressful and emotionally tolling one, but I knew it would be even more rewarding.\u00a0 When I went in for my yearly check up at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, I was able to speak to my pediatric oncology social worker about her career and it solidified my desire to pursue that field.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As I continue my studies, I have a clear goal in mind and one that I am so excited for.\u00a0 Now when I think of the trouble I faced as a child, I do not focus on myself, but instead envision the countless families facing this issue worldwide.\u00a0 I cannot wait until I can help families going through the same trials that mine did.\u00a0 I feel that with my experience, I will show them that their children can live normal lives and I hope that I will be able to provide a light at the end of the tunnel.\u00a0 My childhood battle with leukemia will no longer be a trouble in my life, but a grand opportunity to serve my society.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
While most toddlers spend their days having play dates and running around at the park, I battled cancer.\u00a0 At two and a half years of age, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and underwent chemotherapy treatments for two years.\u00a0 By age five, I had won the fight and entered remission.\u00a0 I am grateful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions\/121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithhopeandlovejesus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}