Callie, Interrupted

Next week I'll be graduating high school, on June 20th. June 20th also happens to be the one year anniversary of my last chemo treatment, which is a pretty astounding contrast. It's strange to think back on what my life was like and who I was then, and how different everything is now. So much can change in such short time—I learned that the hard way when I was first diagnosed, but I also saw it happen for the better this past year. To say I'm better off now than this time in June 2017 would of course be a gross understatement, but it's still something that can be said. I'm attending college in the fall and I'm excited for the next chapter. Recently I've been recognized by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as their 2018 Girl of the Year. It is an honorary position where my experience will serve as inspiration and motivation for the annual Man & Woman of the Year fundraising campaigns for the organization. This is a ten week challenge in which candidat...

It's pretty safe to say that this past year sucked, in many, many ways. 2017 was the hardest year of my life. There were some times when I felt like it would just never end, but lo and behold, here we finally are at 2018. Yes, it's just a small number change on the date, but symbolically it feels like a big deal to me. It's a blank slate, a new page, a fresh start. Today in particular, January 10th, means a lot to me. January 10th, 2017 was the day that I first went the hospital. I remember that day perfectly, from what I was doing that afternoon to what I was thinking about on the car ride over to what homework I was supposed to do that night. I remember it all so well it almost scares me. Today is a big day because it means that it has been a full year since everything began. It means that every day going forward can potentially remind me of the days from last year. At the same time, though, it also means that every day going forward can start to replace the days ...