| Hello, my name is Christopher Hong. I am 18 years old and I was diagnosed with ALL leukemia when I was just 10 years old. I woke up in the middle of the night to find myself being dragged out of the comfort and warmth of my bed and rushed to Children's Hospital. Bewildered by my presence there, my parents frantically found my doctor and began speaking in hushed and bothered voices. My mother suddenly waked me up moments later, her cries reverberating off the hospital walls and the sound of the doctor's footsteps walking away. It is 4:30AM in the morning, I am in the fifth grade, and diagnosed with cancer.
The diagnosis was that I would have to endure long extensive treatments of chemotherapy. It wore me down to the breaking point that I wanted to just give up and let this cancer take me away. I was physically incapable of doing the simplest task walking or even getting up. My mind was a whirlwind of emotions of sadness and frustration. The reason for this mentality was because as I child, sat in the hospital bed thinking I had little hopes of survival, let alone the strength to graduate middle school. Through all my struggles and hardships, I have not let this mentality hinder me, as I now strive to excel in academics and be an active volunteer in my community. This is my world - a continuing effort to live up to my fullest potential to take advantage of the second chance fate has graced me with.
Cancer has shaped who I am today, what I think and what I feel about the world; it has changed my perspective of how the way we live. I strive to wonder out of the millions of people in the world why me. It hit me that the world wants me know pain and come out of the clutches of despair and become a changed person.
I relish the idea of heading back to school because I was away for so long. The challenging part was making friends and taking difficult classes at school. It was tough interacting with people because everyone knew each other and I didn't have good practice making new friends when I was in the hospital. Since I was home schooled I wasn't used to all the competition among my classmates. At first, it was difficult I had to study hard and keep up with all the classes, but as time pass I was able to get the hang of it. I must admit, it was quite a struggle at first, as I was new to the concept of classrooms lockers, thick textbooks, and finals. As hard as my AP classes were, it has helped me prepare for life and the obstacles that are ahead if me, as my teacher, Mr. Moreno has said, I can pursue anything as long as I put my mind into it. I feel that school is now my second home and the instructors are my role models because aside from teaching me the required subject material, they ingrained in me moral values and determination to succeed in life. I only can repay them by showing that their teachings have not been forgotten and have been put to good use.
I look forward to my future and what it entails at the University of California , Davis ; it would be another journey that I must pursue to become a doctor. This year I start college and this scholarship will help me to focus on my studies and not if I think my parents can't afford paying for my tuition and let my parents at ease for awhile in their lives right now. My experiences during and post leukemia has shown me that I have the ability to carve my own future. I am proud to say that not only have I defeated cancer, but also successfully transitioned into a normal life. My battle with cancer has taught me that I can over any hardship that my future will entail.
Sincerely,
Christopher Hong |
