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As I thought about what to write for the Faith Hope and Love Jesus, Inc. Scholarship, I thought about what I love or what I like to do.\u00a0 My first thought was basketball and the reason why I love the sport of basketball.\u00a0 I was seven years old, a typical second grader, waiting for summer to start.\u00a0 I had plans to spend the night with friends, stay up as late as I wanted, and participate in some pageants.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let me fool you, I was a tomboy too and I begged my mom to get involved in sports.\u00a0 I was looking forward to playing summer basketball that year.\u00a0 Little did I know what God had in store for me in the upcoming days and even years.<\/p>\n
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January 24, 2003, our family heard the most devastating news.\u00a0 \u201cYour child has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia,\u201d the doctors explained at Children\u2019s Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.\u00a0 As a family, we didn\u2019t really know which way to turn next.\u00a0 My mom, a great example, dropped her head and started praying, asking God to take over. \u00a0All we knew was to pray.\u00a0 Having your blood work drawn every day, taking fourteen pills of medicine, and undergoing chemotherapy each week was not something I wanted to be doing.\u00a0 Being seven years old, I just wanted to be out of the hospital and participate in extracurricular activities.\u00a0 Was that a wish to hard to grant for an innocent seven year old?\u00a0 What I would have given to be on the basketball court instead of the hospital beds was more than one could ever think.<\/p>\n
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The side effects of chemo began to hit me.\u00a0 My appearance started to change drastically.\u00a0 I lost a lot of weight and muscle mass, and my hair began to fall out.\u00a0 Losing my hair was devastating at first, but it did not stop me.\u00a0 It just meant I got to beg my mom for some really cute hats. \u00a0The doctors would say, \u201cYou can\u2019t go outside, don\u2019t get around a lot of people, and wear a mask everywhere you go.\u201d\u00a0 How in the world could I play basketball if these were the rules I had to follow?\u00a0 This was not the routine I dreamed about getting used to, but it had to be now.\u00a0 The hospital was just another home to me.\u00a0 Although, I knew God had something in store for me, but I didn\u2019t realize it until my first basketball practice of my freshman year.<\/p>\n
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My ninth grade year, I made the Lady Rams Basketball team.\u00a0 I was so overjoyed.\u00a0 After all I had been through; I finally got the chance to play.\u00a0 From the very first day of practice I fell in love with this sport.\u00a0 We had practice during school and after school, just running up and down the court, panting like dogs.\u00a0 One may seem like that is pointless and may ask why would one person enjoy that so much?\u00a0 Well, I loved it!\u00a0 My determination I had to use to get through cancer was beginning to play a role on the basketball court.\u00a0 I was the first one to practice and the last one to leave. When I wasn\u2019t at practice, I was at home shooting free throws, running sprints in the yard, or doing dribbling drills down our driveway.<\/p>\n
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Being a true freshman, intimidation was a big factor for me.\u00a0 I will never forget the first practice of high school season when the coach began to walk towards me.\u00a0 I had no clue what the coach was about to say or ask me, but I was anxious.\u00a0 \u201cAshton, you have a natural talent for this sport.\u00a0 Why do you like basketball so much?\u201d coach asked curiously.\u00a0\u00a0 This is when I stopped and realized why God allowed me to overcome some obstacles in my life.\u00a0 As my coach listened attentively, I began to tell my journey as a seven year old.\u00a0 I continued to explain that I finally have this opportunity to play and I am going to give all the glory to God.\u00a0 My hard work and dedication paid off and I was a four year starter for the Lady Rams Varsity Basketball Team.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After ten years in remission, I can see where the Lord has brought me from and why He has allowed me to see another day.\u00a0 With this scholarship, it would allow me to purse a Master\u2019s degree in Nursing.\u00a0 Now that I\u2019m at this chapter in my life, I want to challenge myself and return the favor to those who are in my position as I once was.\u00a0 In pursuit of becoming a nurse practitioner, my faith, hope and love for God continues to increase each and every day.\u00a0 I look for the Lord to guide me down His path and continue to share my testimony of my experience.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
-ASHTON WELBORN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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