First off, did you know that I AM DONE WITH CHEMO!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
I'm a little excited about it. I hope to get started back at the temple soon and mostly excited to be done with cancer. No more recurrences, okay?
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I spent the last week putting together a scholarship application. This scholarship is offered to cancer survivors, so good thing I am one. BOOYAH. I'm feeling pretty optimistic about it. I sent it off in the mail today, so we'll find out the verdict sometime between now and August.
This application required four essays, two half-page and two full-page. Writing these essays really gave me time to reflect on life. One essay in particular was about the topic of "How Cancer Has Impacted My College Career." I started the essay thinking that I'd have a ton of limitations and setbacks, and while there were a few, there were more good things about cancer. Sound weird? Well read on. I know while cancer has sucked, there has been lots more good than bad.
I knew at a young age that I wanted
to pursue a career in which I could help people. That was solidified at age 15,
when I was diagnosed with cancer in my salivary glands. The five-and-a-half
year journey that included numerous surgeries, relapses, radiation, and
chemotherapy have both helped and hindered my college pursuit in ways that I
wouldn’t have imagined.My college experience began in my
home town of Cedar City, Utah at Southern Utah University in the fall of 2012.
I stood six months clear from a relapse, in which I had a surgery to removed
cancer-infected tissue from my neck. Toward the end of the semester, however, I
was faced with yet another relapse, this time requiring a major 13-hour surgery
which would take place the day after my last final. Because of the immensity of
this surgery, I made the choice to un-register for the upcoming spring
semester, so that I could recover and focus on my health. It put me behind a
semester, and I wish I could have kept going with my schooling.On the other hand, I have been
blessed in regards to my higher education because of cancer. Months after my
major surgery, I sat at a crossroads. I wasn’t necessarily happy with my chosen
major. My education was at a point where I didn’t have many general education requirements
left and needed to pursue a major. I combed through the list of majors that SUU
offered, but nothing jumped out at me. It wasn’t until I looked at the results
of my personality test that I immediately found my answer- Speech pathology. I
wouldn’t have recognized that career had I not received speech therapy from my
major surgery months before. If I hadn’t gone through cancer, I probably
wouldn’t have gone toward the career I am pursuing today.The biggest impact of cancer is
that I am a better college student. I have full confidence that I can push
through hard classes and tough teachers, assignments, or study groups- all with
phenomenal grades. Why? Because I’ve made it through harder times. I know that
I can succeed at anything in life because I have already succeeded in something
bigger than myself- taking back my life from cancer.
That's the message. Life is good. Life has bad in it, but
life is good. That good depends entirely upon you. Make it good. Do something good today!
Did that sound repetitive?
Good, you caught on. It was intended.
Keep running,
