<p>I was fortunate to get to know a girl in the course of producing a play in 2006. She played Lucy in a stage adaptation of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” She’s a fine young actress. She wrote the following last week, and it’s one of the most moving things I’ve read in a long time. I thought some of you might like it, and – yes – it has occurred to me that it is a great first draft of a college applications essay, too.</p>
<p>My friend, who I believe just turned 13:</p>
<p>The Visitor</p>
<p>It’s a funny thing about unexpected visitors; some you greet with anticipation and joy—wanting their visit to last for days. Like your best friend from second grade whom you haven’t seen for years. Others, like your great Aunt Carol, you secretly hope will soon be on their way.
It’s the same I guess with “visitors” that come into our lives—those circumstances we don’t plan for but nonetheless are obliged to entertain. I’ve had just that sort of “visitor”. At age 11 I was diagnosed with high risk Acute Lymphblastic Leukemia. I had never heard of this disease, never known anyone with this disease, and never dreamed this disease would call my body “home.” Heck, I was in sixth grade, eager to hang out with my friends and enjoy my last year of elementary school. I was busy with voice lessons, soccer tournaments, computer games, snowboarding, and more. I was a regular kid with a regular life until one day my bones started to ache. After two failed rounds of chemotherapy treatment I began a fast track to bone marrow transplant (BMT); my second shot at life.
Experiences like this shake you to the core and leave you asking lots of questions like, “Why me”, or “How much more can I endure?” At first I greeted my “visitor” with these same questions, but quickly set them aside as I relied on my faith, family and friends to see me through.
The cool thing about God is that He never left me. Even during the toughest times, long nights and endless days of not being able to eat or drink I knew He was there. I also knew He did not intend for this “visitor” to be permanent. It would be just a matter of time before my “visitor” left and I emerged a stronger girl, sure of my resolve, hopeful for my future, and armed with experience to impact the world.
In addition to great people and a strong faith I also put great effort into not letting this “visitor” rearrange my life. No matter how weak my body was I continued to dance, paint, sing and even bake in my hospital room! Granted, the outcome was not always pretty but nonetheless, I lived with joy. Part of living like this meant spreading joy. As I walked the cancer ward halls each day I saw too many parents and children looking tired and defeated. I found strength in greeting them with a big smile, making crafts to hang in their rooms, and helping them find one positive thing to focus on each day. I found that if I lived to help others there was not enough room in my heart for self-pity or discouragement.
Cancer has taught me not to cling to the past or worry about the future. I just live in the day—whatever that day may feel like. And in the back of my mind I know tomorrow will be different. Today, as I am still recovering, I hold tight to the fact that I will once again experience extraordinary days like an ordinary girl. In the meantime, I am a survivor.</p>