For most of my school career starting in high school, I struggled with extreme fatigue and gut issues. I thought I wasn't good enough at school, that I was just stressing and studying harder than my classmates for the same grades. I cried frequently and pushed myself insanely hard to keep up with friends, which only made me progressively more ill throughout each semester. School breaks were reserved for rest, not having fun. I continued feeling subpar and beating myself up for not participating in gatherings, volunteering more, or working more hours at my two jobs. By junior year of undergrad in 2018, my food regularly went straight through me, and I began getting suspicious bruises. The bruises had me sent to a hematologist who didn't find anything wrong. I was too busy to pursue other specialists and my primary physician was convinced it was stress, so I just tried to manage the symptoms. I ate a strict diet, exercised, tracked my water intake, and maintained an 8-hour sleep schedule. This helped enough to have a slightly more involved social life my senior year in 2019. I made some great memories and wanted to finish my bachelor’s degree strong. Then the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and I was in heaven because I could sleep without guilt instead of socializing. I had more energy over time which prompted me to pick up jiu-jitsu. Unfortunately, I didn't last long because I dislocated my knee. While getting treatment, I had a bizarre full-body reaction to the anti-inflammatory drugs. The orthopedic doctor was the first medical professional to truly listen to all my symptoms and concerns, so he ordered an auto-antibody panel. Viola, I had two positives: anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti-smooth muscle actin (ASMA). From that point forward, I had proof that my symptoms weren't in my head and doctors finally took me seriously. I bounced between rheumatologists and gastroenterologists for almost 2 years to determine whether I had lupus or autoimmune hepatitis. During this, I quit my brain numbing job and went back to school for a master’s degree at Tufts University studying infectious disease and global health. I finally had some answers to my struggles and had a completely changed mindset. For the first time in my life, I was able to give myself grace on bad days and take full advantage of my good days. Although my life was harder than someone healthy, I understood how precious life and time is, to cherish them. Moving away from home in Tennessee to Massachusetts for school was terrifying but I felt lucky to attend graduate school. I learned to rest, say no when my plate was full, and take on challenges I never would have before. I graduated with a 3.96 GPA and won the poster presentation day for my final project. The next step for me was coming home and working at a big research institution such as UT-Knoxville or Oak Ridge National Laboratory. I applied for 8 months before finally landing a position in a stem cell lab. My perseverance allowed me to settle into a job that placed me in the center of all the right people to further my career and education. Never in a million years did I want to pursue a PhD, it always felt unachievable for me, that I could never keep up with such a vibrant, capable group of professionals. But here I am, ready to take on a doctoral program because I finally learned my biggest strength, that I am capable of all things. I just do life a little different.