Cancer. The thing that everyone dreads. The thing I had always heard about, but never fully understood until it took the life of my best friend. My older sister, Taylor, was diagnosed with a rare spinal cord tumor as she entered her sophomore year of high school. After her first surgery, my parents took her for a second opinion and she had another surgery and became paralyzed from the waist down. A cancer diagnosis is terrifying, but watching your sister, your idol, and your best friend become paralyzed on top of a cancer diagnosis is brutal. It seemed like whenever we thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did with a bad scan, being limited with therapy and visitors due to COVID-19, spread to her brain, etc. However, through the diagnosis and all Taylor went through, I learned more than I could have imagined about ambition, drive, and impact as I had the absolute best role model you could ask for. Ambition is something that Taylor had an abundance of. She had this overwhelming desire to achieve more than what anyone thought possible. She insisted that she would walk and drive again, but my mom could see by the responses and facial expressions of doctors that not all of them believed that. She went to 3+ hours of therapy daily, requested extra sessions on the weekends, and did her own exercises in her room. I honestly have never witnessed someone want anything more than her wanting to use her legs again. She set goals for herself that she worked hard to achieve, giving maximum effort. Even with treatment, when she was tired and sick, her ambition never diminished. I admire the determination Taylor had when pushing towards the things that she wanted. She did walk with a walker and crutches before the cancer spread to her brain. I have never been more proud. Taylor’s drive was unbelievable regarding school. She participated in all of her classes without being discouraged, even while inpatient for several months. She maintained a 4.0 while teaching herself and going through treatment. Taylor’s drive and determination are what got her through two rounds of radiation, chemotherapy, and a drug trial in Michigan. I am inspired to push myself because she showed me what is possible to accomplish in a horrible situation. My sister made an impact on everyone that knew her. By being very friendly with positive energy and enthusiasm, she built strong relationships as though she wasn’t going through the hardest time in her life. She provided input regarding treatment and therapy. Most people would just do whatever they are told, but she would speak up if she didn’t agree with something. Even though Taylor’s life has come to an end, her story continues to make an impact. My mom and I created the Taylor Lech Foundation in her memory to raise money for pediatric cancer research and to help families with a cancer diagnosis. Taylor’s significant impact on others has inspired me to do the same by working to raise money through the foundation. My dream is to become an occupational therapist and help people get better. My ambition is to constantly learn and achieve to pursue my goals. I am determined to take in everything to become the best occupational therapist for my patients. Lastly, I will make sure I am not just any other therapist, but one that my patients feel comfortable with and will remember forever because of my impact. I am thankful for my sister, and all of the things that she and her cancer journey have taught me.