I began to feel different from everyone else, since my friends were graduating, celebrating, and eager to move on to new chapters in their lives. But I could not join them and celebrate with them. I especially found it interesting to see how others around me dealt with my news. Some acted suddenly distant for lack of words, some dramatized the whole thing, and some acted perfectly normal, which felt the most comfortable for me.
Within days, I had packed up all of my college belongings and headed home with my f***ly ready to face this unexpected hurdle. I immediately turned to my best friend from high school. She had gone through cancer in our senior year, and because of watching her courageously overcome so many obstacles3 four years before, I knew she could give me the fuel I needed for my own battle.
As my surgery date to remove the tumor got closer, I was experiencing intense physical pain. Part of me wanted it over with and the other part of me was coming unglued. The wall of strength I had built was crumbling. I was so angry that I had to go through this when all those around me were going on with their lives. I spent a lot of time asking, why me？
But something wonderful started happening in the midst of all this. I be