Watching Cancer Win I will never forget the late night of September 14, 2008: it will forever be one of the saddest times of my entire life. I woke up in the middle of the night to my mom and older sister, Danielle’s, hushed sobbing and whispering. Curious, I went into the living room to ask what was wrong, and I was given news that I and the rest of my family had been dreading for the last year: my cousin, Kenny, lost his five year battle with childhood brain cancer. Watching Kenny push through this terrible fight with such an awful disease for so long only to lose the battle had a very profound effect on my life.
My family’s long, hard-fought, five year battle with the curse of pediatric brain cancer has inspired me to foster sincere relationships of all kinds. An exceptional role model, Kenny, a true example of a selfless person, always put other people’s happiness before his own. Seeing his simple selfless actions, like saying hello to people he saw in the grocery store or waving at the mailman in the morning, taught me the right way to treat others. I learned by Kenny’s ways and habits how to be kind to others and to always show them sympathy and respect. Kenny’s sad yet teaching journey with cancer also encouraged me to embrace the relationships I have while the chance exists. Because Kenny’s journey helped me to learn the importance of these traits, I am always careful to not prejudge others before I know who they really are and never mistreat others based on their differences in race, religion, gender, or medical conditions. Apart from putting a spark in me to foster sincere relationships, the unfortunate encounter I had with pediatric brain cancer, a rare form of childhood cancer, also showed me the meaning of the saying “Live life to its fullest.” Watching Kenny jump at every opportunity thrown his way although he was sick, motivated me to do the same. I realized that every opportunity, success or fail, I leap at will benefit me in some way. I learned to embrace the good things that happen and to learn from the bad. Apart from tackling every opportunity that came down his path, Kenny never gave up trying to achieve his dreams. He missed a lot of class time, yet my cousin was determined to graduate high school. He worked very diligently at home and during his hospital stays to keep up with his classmates at Stephen Decatur High School; and in June of 2008, another moment that will be engrained in my head forever, I got to watch him receive his high school diploma. This event single-handedly encouraged me to never stop trying to accomplish the goals I set out for myself. I learned that in order to achieve all of the things I hope to do I need to stop doing nothing; I have to get up and shoot for the stars! Most importantly, witnessing my