Meet the 2021 Scholars

"Living through a global pandemic with a chronic illness, what is one piece of inspirational advice that you would give to other students with CF who are in the same or similar position?"

Living through a pandemic with a chronic illness has been a rollercoaster of events. Over the course of the pandemic, I battled illness, transitioned jobs 3 times, and decided to enroll in graduate school. Through faith and perseverance, I have overcome the difficulties caused by the pandemic and CF. Living with CF has taught me that every day is a gift. I never leave anything left unsaid or undone because tomorrow is not guaranteed. When I was in high school, I almost lost my battle with CF. After overcoming that exacerbation, I told myself that I was going to focus on spreading joy and positivity through my battle with CF. Many times, we see the stereotypes of our condition and let our diagnosis define our future. This is why I chose to build lungs depicting the blossoming of life in overcoming the obstacles of CF. CFers battle to keep our airways clean but typically fall victim to them becoming blocked and scarred from infection. With CF, sickness, similar to the pandemic, can hit us by surprise. Whether you are fighting a chronic illness or a pandemic, you can still bring life into your situation rather than let your diagnosis pull you down. I choose to spend my time spreading positivity and journeying into new things like graduate school because I will not let CF define who I am. No matter the battle, I will continue to dictate my own future rather than fall victim to my diagnosis.