On the surface, there is nothing extraordinary about me. I love sports, get good grades, and have a dog named Jovi (named after a character in the classic Christmas film, ”Elf”, not the equally classic New Jersey rooted rock band named, “Bon Jovi”), have a girlfriend and great friends to hang out with and go to the movies. I work at a local sandwich shop, where I get to work with my sister, Mia - my only sibling, closest ally, and confidant. That is the 10,000-foot view of my life: the average teenage boy. It is what most people don't know about me that has defined my young life. My mother, Kelli, was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer when I was only four years old, and she died when I was eleven. I do not have a childhood memory where my mom wasn't either sick from cancer and chemotherapy or dead. Yet, through her life, she inspired me to be who I have become and go where I want to go. This is not some hollowed-out ideal of a person I want to emulate, like a sports figure, political leader, or entrepreneur. She was a real person in my life, fighting a diseased body and mind while knowing her time here with Mia and me was so limited. The rawness of her life those last few years will shape me as long as I breathe. My mom was a fierce woman raised in the U.S. Marine Corps family, growing up in many places, but mostly Hawaii and California. She was a proud 1997 graduate of The Texas A&M University, with a degree in political science. After college, she ironically went to work at the national headquarters of the American Cancer Society in Washington D.C., where she was a grassroots and legislative coordinator. Years later, after a marriage, two children, and her cancer diagnosis, she went back to the American Cancer Society as an advocate of cancer research, funding, and awareness. She was even a national spokesperson starring in a nationally-run television commercial. I am so proud of her. She was amazing, regardless of the situation, but knowing that she was fighting severe illness, fatigue, her mortality gives me strength to carry on and do my best. If my mom could do it sick and knowingly dying, then what excuses do I have? Some may say my life has been difficult without her in it. To which I would agree, but I am not the only one with hardship. Unfortunately, too many of us have known loss, personal illness, or injury; I am not alone. My mom and dad used to talk about the blessings of cancer. As crazy as it sounds, they would speak of how it made them appreciate life, connect with friends, and receive others’ generosity. Adding to their list of blessings is my determination to make something of myself while realizing, at just seventeen years of age, the cliche’, that life is short. I appreciate its truth. Cancer has followed me throughout my entire life, yet I choose that to be a good thing. I appreciate the lessons which it has brought to me. I am currently a teen leadership council member for a company called Wonders & Worries, W&W is a nonprofit organization located in Austin, Texas, that provides support for children affected by a parent's illness like cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and other serious illnesses. I also want to become a Camp Kesem counselor while attending college. I grew up attending Camp Kesem over summer breaks to better understand cancer, and my feelings towards it.

On the surface, there is nothing extraordinary about me. I love sports, get good grades, and have a dog named Jovi (named after a character in the classic Christmas film, ”Elf”, not the equally classic New Jersey rooted rock band named, “Bon Jovi”), have a girlfriend and great friends to hang out with and go to the movies. I work at a local sandwich shop, where I get to work with my sister, Mia - my only sibling, closest ally, and confidant. That is the 10,000-foot view of my life: the average teenage boy. It is what most people don't know about me that has defined my young life. My mother, Kelli, was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer when I was only four years old, and she died when I was eleven. I do not have a childhood memory where my mom wasn't either sick from cancer and chemotherapy or dead. Yet, through her life, she inspired me to be who I have become and go where I want to go. This is not some hollowed-out ideal of a person I want to emulate, like a sports figure, political leader, or entrepreneur. She was a real person in my life, fighting a diseased body and mind while knowing her time here with Mia and me was so limited. The rawness of her life those last few years will shape me as long as I breathe. My mom was a fierce woman raised in the U.S. Marine Corps family, growing up in many places, but mostly Hawaii and California. She was a proud 1997 graduate of The Texas A&M University, with a degree in political science. After college, she ironically went to work at the national headquarters of the American Cancer Society in Washington D.C., where she was a grassroots and legislative coordinator. Years later, after a marriage, two children, and her cancer diagnosis, she went back to the American Cancer Society as an advocate of cancer research, funding, and awareness. She was even a national spokesperson starring in a nationally-run television commercial. I am so proud of her. She was amazing, regardless of the situation, but knowing that she was fighting severe illness, fatigue, her mortality gives me strength to carry on and do my best. If my mom could do it sick and knowingly dying, then what excuses do I have? Some may say my life has been difficult without her in it. To which I would agree, but I am not the only one with hardship. Unfortunately, too many of us have known loss, personal illness, or injury; I am not alone. My mom and dad used to talk about the blessings of cancer. As crazy as it sounds, they would speak of how it made them appreciate life, connect with friends, and receive others’ generosity. Adding to their list of blessings is my determination to make something of myself while realizing, at just seventeen years of age, the cliche’, that life is short. I appreciate its truth. Cancer has followed me throughout my entire life, yet I choose that to be a good thing. I appreciate the lessons which it has brought to me. I am currently a teen leadership council member for a company called Wonders & Worries, W&W is a nonprofit organization located in Austin, Texas, that provides support for children affected by a parent's illness like cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and other serious illnesses. I also want to become a Camp Kesem counselor while attending college. I grew up attending Camp Kesem over summer breaks to better understand cancer, and my feelings towards it.