At the age of eleven I was going into my Sixth grade year at Metcalf Elementary School. Sixth grade was going to be the highlight of my Metcalf experience. I would be one of the “Big Kids”. Sixth graders owned the school and were the coolest kids ever. They got first pick for after school activities, ran the Medieval Fair, and even got to walk the halls from class to class on their own. It was the grade I had been awaiting for the past three years. Sixth grade was going to be my year to shine; I would be the big kid on campus.

As the year started I was ready for the excitement. I had three great teachers, was in class with my friends, and was already planning for a great year ahead. The third week of October 2003, I had the strangest feeling. I had gone to school and after a week of feeling sick, gym did not suit me well. I could barely breath during a running activity, and felt as if I was going to pass out. That afternoon I went to my Girl Scout Halloween Party, the only reason I had gone to school, and when I got home, I was feeling even worse. As I got up to go to the bathroom I blacked out, fell down, and then my mother and I began to worry. I had never been sick. It just wasn’t in my vocabulary. Maybe an upset stomach here and there, but nothing like this. When we arrived in the Hasbro Children’s Hospital Emergency Room we were checked in, a resident misplaced my chart, and we sat for five hours before I was seen. Finally, a long awaited check up was done and after a cat scan the truth was told. At 1am on October 25th, 2003 I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s T-cell Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes.  I had a tumor that had pushed over my esophagus, wrapped around my aorta, and kept going past what the scan had shown.

Three long years of chemo awaited me and I jumped in head first. Many days were long and full of sadness, but I never let them kill my spirit. My philosophy was that there was nothing I could do to change my circumstances, so I may as well make the best of it. Today, I am three years in remission, and traveling along the road of the five-year cancer free mark.

I truly believe that this experience has shaped me into a better person. It has made me better appreciate the people and everyday pieces of my life. Since the beginning of my Freshman year in High School I have completed over 300 hours of Community Service and cherish every day and every person in my life. I feel that everything happens for a reason and that although we are thrust into different problems or situations, how we get through them is much more important than how we come out. I have become a more religious and more grateful person and strive to make a positive impact in those around me.

This experience does not define me, but it has turned my life around and shaped me into the person I am today. It is such an important part of my life and the struggle I have overcome has made me a new, more aware person. I feel that the time I have here is not to be wasted but to be spent helping those around me. I have learned that today will never come tomorrow, so love those around you and live life to the fullest with no regrets.

There are less than four months until I am considered cancer free.  May 5th, 2011 will be the ‘five-year cancer free” mark and a great celebration on my part.  Still today it crosses my mind, “What if it comes back? Will I be able to do it this time? What if?” and it doesn’t get any easier.  I am happy to be reaching this milestone and try to look up everyday.  I don’t know why I got cancer but I’m sure I’ll find out someday; there has got to be a bigger reason or meaning in this experience.  I try to believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. God never said life would be easy. He just promised it would be worth it.