Meet the 2019 Scholars

"Choose one inspirational quote or motto that has helped you throughout your journey with cystic fibrosis. How do you live by your quote or motto and how has it motivated you to accomplish your goals?"

One quote that has helped me through my journey with cystic fibrosis is “Someone always has it worse than you.” While this might seem extreme to many, this is a quote that I now live by. When I was a child, I always felt insecure about my condition. I was the only kid who had to take enzymes with meals, consume extra supplements in my school classes to help gain weight, and was asked why I always coughed constantly. I was self conscious about performing my lung treatments in front of my friends because I thought that I would be portrayed as different. I started asking myself “Why me?” and “What did I do to deserve this?”. One day I was feeling sorry for myself and my mother approached me and said a quote that I would soon never forget. “Someone always has it worse than you.” Later that night while I laid in bed, I started to think about my attitude on life. I was extremely healthy for a kid with cystic fibrosis, I had a loving and caring family accompanied by many friends, and I had a lifestyle that was preparing me a bright and successful future. I realized how lucky I actually was. From that day forward instead of asking “Why me?”, I started asking “Why not me?” . I realized that cystic fibrosis didn’t define me in a bad way. It made me work harder, achieve more goals, and made me into who I am today.