The first time I was diagnosed with cancer I was a shy and quiet 16 year old. I shared my diagnosis with very few people but it was obvious to see that something was wrong when I lost all my hair and missed over a third of the school year. As a result of missing so much school and trying to keep my diagnosis in secret, I lost almost all my friends that year and for the rest of high school.

Coming to college was like a dream for me; a fresh place to start where no one knew my past…until my cancer came back. However, this time was different. I refused to let go of the new friends I had made just because of a medical problem. It wasn't worth it to me to keep it a secret; this time I was proud to say I had survived cancer twice.

I realized my cancer was nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed of. I decided that I wanted to change my major to nursing, in hopes of one day becoming an oncology nurse. If this whole situation had not happened to me, I would never have chosen nursing as my major. So although many bad things have come out of having cancer, I believe it has changed my life for the better and has put me into a career field to hopefully change the lives of others for the better too.

About a month ago, the screen of my lap top computer broke and is no longer useable. Now I have my laptop connected to a huge old screen we had from an old computer. My computer is no longer portable. Trying to do work, especially group work, in college is getting to be hard when I'm tied to the computer desk in my bedroom. I have been saving up to buy a new computer but the only job I can get because of lack of transportation is on campus where they can only give me two hours per week. Needless to say, it's going to take me a while to save up. If I were awarded this scholarship I would put it towards my savings to buy a new computer.