Thank you for not giving up. I know for many of you readers saying thank you to yourself is easy. Stay with me and read a brief snippet of my so-called life, and then you decide if I deserve to be thanking myself. At some point in time, everyone feels as though the deck of cards is stacked against them. Today’s story is from a defining moment at the age of 12. Only after finding out from a relative that my life as I knew it was a lie. I am the middle of three kids, yet I had a different dad. I had 12 years of lies to sort through, so naturally, my first reaction was to run away from home. Only 10 blocks away, to at the time, a person I thought would be a lifelong friend. At 12 years old, I did not understand the concept of medication and what is necessary to overdose. I tried to take a handful of my antidepressants, which I was on because of the mental illness that plagues my family. Only to open my eyes a few hours later. Laying upon the outdated, hard yet carpeted floor of my best friend’s bedroom. My head felt like someone took a sledgehammer to a raw egg. The haze and the cloudy vision was a bonus. I thought about my mom and how hard it must have been to keep that secret all those years. After throwing my preteen melodramatic fit, I returned home after a week. Now, keep in mind my mom knew where I was the entire time. The best way to understand something is to ask questions. Unfortunately, the only answers I got were that it was for your own good; he is a drug addict and was not fit to raise a kid. I had to give my mom the benefit of the doubt. Mainly because unable to confirm any of the information with the person known to me as a face on a picture. I had to believe that what my mom was telling me was the truth. My thank you to myself stems from these events in my preteen years. Thank you for not giving up on believing in yourself. Despite everyone who was supposed to be there for you, have been lying to you your entire life. Thank you for not letting the lies of your childhood keep you from being extraordinary. Thank you for looking past the lies from your mother and forgiving her. Thank you for not giving up then or ever again. Thank you for not letting the biggest lie of your childhood dictate your future.

Dear Unsealed readers;
You may find my letter cliche in its content. The roller coaster I’ve been on since my illness, I assure you is compelling fiction. Growing up we are told to be grateful and appreciate what we have. I never truly understood that life lesson until I got sick.
Starting my 30’s already stressful. Add an extremely unplanned pregnancy after 8 years of just me and my son! Topped with a move, promotion, and progressing strange medical issues. Fast forward 7 years, surviving breast cancer every day. Along with navigating my life around my paralysis due to a rare side effect of cancer, Paraneoplastic Syndrome. Both my children live with my mom, who I’m grateful for. It’s the smaller things we forget as a “normal able body” person. I’m talking about things even as I type them that seem silly; using the bathroom when and where you want, standing up on your own, wiping your own vagina, driving, stairs, not being limited to public places because of stairs or small doors! Don’t get me wrong, I have always been a person who appreciated and was grateful for everything. My lesson is to show your gratitude and appreciation. Telling people in your life how much they mean to you. Thank often!