I believe the greatest adversity I have faced, and will probably continue to face is my health. I have been chronically ill for 7 years, and while I am doing pretty well right now, that has definitely not always been the case. When I was first diagnosed, I thought that maybe there would be a cure or at least a medication that could treat me so that I could be “normal” and functional again, but unfortunately, intractable chronic migraines and POTS have no cure, and most medications don’t work for me. I found that out through years of trial and error. This meant that I had to learn how to function while constantly being in pain. I had to learn how to be able to complete necessary tasks by pushing through pain, while also knowing how to pace myself so that I don’t get worse. I had to learn how to live a life that was guided by my conditions, and how to stay motivated even when times were hard. I realized that I could still dream big, and set goals for myself, but that I might have to adjust my life and the path to that goal, in order to achieve it. I am at a point in my life, where I have finally gotten past just surviving, and have actually started thriving again because I have learned about the importance of balance through my health. I still struggle sometimes, but I now have clear goals, and a plan on how to achieve them, without causing my health to decline. I believe facing this adversity made me a stronger and more empathetic person, especially toward others with invisible illnesses and disabilities. It also taught me how to set important priorities in my life. My goal for the future is to study childhood development and education and become a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS), while also getting a master's degree in either early childhood development or education. I realized being a CCLS was going to be my goal after I was hospitalized myself at 15 years old for 10 days, due to my conditions. During my hospital stay, I met a Child Life specialist, and was immediately fascinated! I have always wanted to help people, I love working with children, and I believe I have a unique perspective for helping children in medical settings, seeing as I was a very sick child/teen myself. I fell in love with the job and the idea that I could help others like me. Hopefully, I will be able to put a little bit of the support, love, and guidance that I have received throughout my journey back into our society by helping not only my young patients but also supporting their siblings and their parents!