In the beginning of all the craziness that comes with cancer or honestly any illness, I never really comprehended how much I really needed people to be there for me. During it all I thought that if I just shut down and didn’t let anyone in or tell them how I was really doing, that I was doing everyone a service and would save everyone and myself from the heartache that would come if I didn’t make it through. But now that I’ve had time to really look back on everything I realized how much I needed people to be around me. I needed my mother and family there with me on the hard nights where I didn’t feel good and all I wanted was to give up, my friends that gave me something to laugh about when I didn’t have the strength to or didn’t want to, my wonderful community that was there cheering me on and was willing to step in whenever my family needed help, the doctors and nurses doing all they could to make hospital visits and stays enjoyable, all the millions of people that prayed that I would get through this and live a full life, and more.

One of the first things doctors tell you when you’re dealing with a major health problem is to surround yourself with people you love. And that’s what happened. I was surrounded by many amazing people who I look up to everyday, and honestly you should surround yourself with amazing, loving people all the time. We were not sent down to this earth to be alone but to learn and grow with the people that we love.