Meet the 2024 Scholars

"Describe a defining moment in your journey with CF that sparked personal growth or resilience. How did this experience affect you and what did you learn from this moment?"

My journey with CF has been nothing short of eventful. There is not one specific moment that I can contribute to my personal growth because the experience of growing up with a life-threatening disease forces growth in itself. However, there was a period of time in my life that required more resilience than a fourteen year old should be expected to possess. The COVID-19 pandemic affected everyone. The abnormalities of staying six feet away from everyone, participating in online school, and wearing masks was an adjustment that needed to be made. However, having cystic fibrosis almost made the seclusion easier because I grew up learning to stay away from sickness at all costs. I was able to acclimate to the new standards of living fairly quickly, and the whole situation became "normal." The summer before freshman year, I still hung out with my friends from a distance and I was able to spend a lot of quality time with my family. When restrictions began to let up, most people were able to throw themselves back into the swing of things. I, on the other hand, was still anxious about being around people. Three months after the initial shutdown, my friends and I decided to write a big birthday message in chalk on our friend's driveway. About halfway through our project, I needed to use the bathroom, and I had no choice but to go inside of my friend's house. Even though I was holding my breath with a mask on, I started to panic as I walked into the bathroom. Alarming thoughts were racing through my brain like, "What if I get sick and my lung function starts to decline? What if my lungs aren't strong enough to withstand the virus?" As I exited the bathroom, I felt dizzy, but I didn't want to cause any alarm, so I kept the intrusive thoughts to myself. Starting high school is hard enough, but how about starting high school in the middle of a pandemic with a chronic lung disease? My family decided to request a 504 plan for my freshman year. The accommodations included sitting in the back corner of every classroom, leaving classes a few minutes early to avoid the mass of students in the hallway, and eating lunch in the library with a single friend. Even with all of these plans in place, I left my first day of high school in tears, unsure if I would be able to persevere through all of the worries about my health. My mom persuaded me to give the next day a try, and as hesitant as I was, the second day was better than the first. After four healthy years of high school, I have learned that worrying about the future will never lead to a good place. Spending time worrying about tomorrow just distracts from the beauty of today. With cystic fibrosis, you just have to roll with the punches and swing back at whatever life throws your way.