I have ‘fee fi fo fummed’ myself into changing what I can control and letting go of what I can’t. I’ve always been tall for my age, and by 13, I had reached 6’1”. When my mom saw the dramatic rate I was growing, she decided to get me tested to see if everything was alright. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. On December 24th, I was diagnosed with gigantism. The MRI showed a 2 cm tumor on my pituitary gland secreting excess growth hormone, and from there, my life was forever altered. Because of my mutated genetics, what was once a yearly doctor visit became multiple doctors and tests in a matter of weeks. A month after my diagnosis, I had my first brain surgery; 11 months later, I had my second. At the start of freshman year, I started a new injection with terrible side effects, and before junior midterms, I was given another medication with even worse complications. My height, which had once been a strength and helped me in volleyball and in other things, became something I loathed. I lamented that I was stuck with an incurable condition that I would require chronic monitoring and medication. Right after junior midterms, while suffering from debilitating side effects, I finally realized something. I can’t change my condition, but treating myself as something that is wrong was never going to help. I struggled with the trauma from the procedures not only physically but mentally, and the strain of constant worries was impacting my joy in life. I started intentionally looking for happiness so I could cut off the anxiety that tethered to me for days. I started to make more jokes about my situation. My brother told me that I should just ‘fee fi fo fum’ my way home from school, and we laugh at the joke together to this day. I couldn't do anything to change my genetics that gave me gigantism, but being negative was useless, so I forced myself into a positive perspective, and now it's natural. Getting this tumor and going through nausea, exhaustion, surgeries, as well as life in general has allowed me a better view that I could not be more thankful for. While I would do anything to be done with all the doctor visits and medications, I cannot deny that it has some positive impacts that I am better off from the experience. I find joy in overlooked things now; a really really good orange and sunsets on the drive home. Letting go of the weight that having brain surgery at 13 had on me, and applying the logic of letting go to the rest of my life, has allowed me to enjoy everything more than I ever thought possible. Although, my tumor has given me more than just a new outlook, it has made me infinitely more curious about biology and its affects. Why did my genes give me a few extra inches, while my little brother will always be on the littler side? How are the medications I'm taking combating the extra growth hormones? What other conditions out there need someone to research an effective medication with less side effects? I want to do that research, to make that impact on the world, like someone decided to do for me. STEM and dedication are the only things that can aid me in my goal to help someone. I don't need to be curing the biggest and baddest diseases, because if that were the only focus of science, I would not be treated. I want to help people.