When I was diagnosed with NF, I was two weeks old. My mom first realized an issue when she saw a café au lait spot on my left leg, she also noticed a fibroma growing just above the café au lait spot. She immediately took me to see my doctor since she had never seen anything like it before. I am the first in my family to be diagnosed and it was a huge challenge growing up. I would never be able to talk to my parents about what I was going through before because they wouldn’t understand to the full extent. Being the only person, I know with NF was extremely isolating as a kid. No one I knew looked like me and it made me super self-conscious about how I looked. On top of being self-conscious, I would also get bullied because of my being different. Since being diagnosed, I have had to have constant doctor’s appointments to make sure nothing new grows. To get to those appointments, I must drive for almost 2 hours so I can see some of the best doctors in the country. Every year I must get a full body MRI which can take up to three hours. Then after the results are processed, I must drive back out to see my oncologist and ophthalmologist to get checkups to see if anything has changed. I am currently taking medication to help with the nerve pain I have in association with the tumors on my spine, eyes, heart, and more. I know that because I have NF, I have a 50% chance of giving my future kids NF. I never want my kid to experience what I go through on a daily basis. I have always wanted kids but because of the chance my kid could get NF, I decided that I want to adopt. Not only will I be able to have a family, but I will also give kids in the system a chance at having a better life. I wasn’t going to let NF stop me from doing what I love. I have known that I have wanted to be a nurse since I was 10. I have always enjoyed helping people. Whenever someone in my family is sick, I always offer to help them. In the Fall of 2023, I am going to Waynesburg University in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania to major in nursing. I don’t know anyone with NF around me, and I always feel good when I see people with NF being represented in books and TV. It makes me feel like I am not alone in my battle. I would not be the person I am today without having NF and facing the challenges I do.

I've wanted to be a nurse ever since I was a little girl. Whenever someone in my family was sick, I would step up and try and help them as best as possible. More specifically the type of nursing I want to go into is pediatrics. This is because I love interacting with children. My current job is running activities for kids to do during the day at a local hotel. I also want to be a nurse because when I was two weeks old, I was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, and it has really shaped me into the person I am today. Through the years I have met many nurses and doctors that were extremely nice to me and when I was younger made me forget for a moment that I had something wrong with me. I want to be able to be that person for kids, even if I can’t fully help them, I would like to provide them the comfort they need to forget they are sick for a little and be a regular kid. I am accepted and committed to going to Waynesburg University in the fall of 2023 and majoring in nursing. Due to my 13 years spent in girl scouts, I have demonstrated my intense enthusiasm for assisting the less fortunate via the many years of community work I have participated in. Seeing those who are less fortunate than I am, helps me realize how fortunate I am to always have a roof over my head and food on the table. As I worked in soup kitchens, I saw individuals for whom our meal was their only one for the day. They were some of the kindest people I have ever encountered, and they would still enter the kitchen with smiles on their faces. Also, I would see little children entering with their parents, some of them would be carrying their entire possessions on their backs. This showed me that, despite the fact that I can be in a bad situation, there are many people that struggle to get by each day while maintaining a cheerful attitude toward life. I believe that community service is extremely important, and everyone should do it at one point in their life. It is an extremely humbling experience, and it has really helped me grow as a person as I got older. I will always continue to help my community through service, and when I have kids I hope to teach them the importance of giving back to those who need help.

Ever since I was young, I have wanted to be a nurse. I am extremely passionate about helping those in need and I have shown that through the many years of community service, I have been a part of, due to me being in girl scouts for 13 years of my life. Seeing people less fortunate than me puts into perspective how lucky I am to have a roof over my head and food on the table every day. I have worked at soup kitchens and seen people whose only meal for the day was the one we were giving them. Yet they would still come into the kitchen with a smile on their faces and were some of the nicest people I have ever met. I would also see little kids walking in with their parents, and some would be carrying everything they own on their backs. This really showed me that even though I could be in a bad position, there are many people who are struggling to make it through the day but still have a positive outlook on life I overcome obstacles every day living with my genetic condition, Neurofibromatosis. I am put through many obstacles such as constant doctor visits, and checkups to make sure that nothing new has developed with my condition. It can be very scary every time I have to go and get an MRI to make sure nothing new has developed. It helps me persevere throughout the day and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without this issue. I tend to look more on the positive side of life because even after being diagnosed with this disease at such a young age, I am extremely lucky because my situation could be a whole lot worse. I plan on giving back to those less fortunate than me for the rest of my life. I am applying to a group at my college where I will spend 10 hours a week doing community service with other kids from my college during the school year, and during the summer they want us to volunteer a good bit of our time to an organization that we like. After I graduate, I plan to not only go into pediatric nursing, which will help kids who are sick, need help, and are in situations that no little kid should have to go through but to also continue helping my community by participating in local community service opportunities. I hope to be extremely involved with my community and hopefully, the things I do will help someone’s day be better.