At the age of 12, I was diagnosed with Leukemia. I had just finished a hockey tournament a week prior and hadn’t felt like myself. After a series of “virtual” visits doctors thought I had strep throat, until one doctor noticed red spots on my legs and ordered bloodwork. I’ll never forget that Saturday when my parents got the phone call to immediately take me to our local Children’s Hospital: I had cancer. For almost 90 days, my mom was my only visitor at the hospital. Just me and my mother in a box. Worse yet, I couldn’t see anyone’s faces due to COVID. I could not see my nine-year-old brother, Jake, or my dad. After three rounds of intense chemotherapy doctors determined I needed a Bone Marrow Transplant to get my cancer into remission. Our family moved to Boston (Dana Farber Cancer Institute) and learned that my younger brother Jake was a match to be my donor. I got my transplant, and after some additional treatment I finally got into remission about a year later. Through my personal health challenges, I’ve learned that the community is without a doubt the most supportive network of people one could ever ask for. Literally everyone was there for me when I was sick…our small town, my hockey team, our small town. When I lost my hair my hockey team shaved their heads. When I couldn’t eat, families made meals. When I couldn’t sleep, friends stayed up with me. When my parents ran out of money a GoFundMe was created. All of these lessons taught me to appreciate others and how much people do really care. People ask me often what it’s like to be a “survivor.” To me being a survivor isn’t about outlasting treatment, it’s about the gift of a new perspective. It took me awhile after my treatment to really understand what I went through and how I can use that experience to help others. I am aware I went through something really hard, but I was also given a gift. I appreciate life more than most will ever know. I now know what it takes to help people in need, and how it feels to be a kid just trying to be “normal”. I’ve started the journey to giving back to all those that helped me, and those that need help now. My hope is that the Sharra Rainboldt Memorial Scholarship could help me continue to give back to other survivors and to the cancer community while at college, which I’m really excited about!