My Life
Location
As a kid having fun was all that I knew how to do.
Love, peace, and happiness.
A few scratches and band-aids,
cards from every classmate on Valentine's Day,
sleepovers with friends and laughs that will never end.
That all ended soon. Sooner than I thought it would.
Middle school, my life changed.
13 year old Breast Cancer Survivor.
The teasing, harsh comments, feeling out of place.
I didn't feel like a teenager anymore. I didn't feel like myself.
I wasn't having fun like I knew how to do.
"Why Me?" is what I often asked and wondered.
Everyday I would fake a smile. At night I would just let it all out.
Tears of pain, confusion, frustration.
"You should be proud. You will inspire people", is what I was told.
Inside I felt empty, lonely, misunderstood.
Knowing that the cancer can reoccur at anytime didn't make it any better for me.
I felt like giving up.
As I grew older, I understood more.
I accepted the fact that I was now a "Breast Cancer Survivor."
I accepted the questions and thoughts.
I accepted that my body is not going to develop how I want it to.
I accepted being DIFFERENT.
Best feeling ever.
Being labeled as a hero, an idol, strong and brave.
Seeing myself motivate others helped me develop a voice of my own.
When I look at myself I am sometimes unsatisfied.
Then I think "Others have it worse. I went through this battle and conquered it for a reason".
Ever heard the saying "God gives his strongest soldiers the toughest battles"?
That's how I imagine myself.
A strong soldier that made it through one of the toughest battles.
I learned to love more.
I learned to accept who I really am.
I am stronger.
I am wiser.
I am better.