Meet the 2021 Scholars

"Living through a global pandemic with a chronic illness, what is one piece of inspirational advice that you would give to other students with CF who are in the same or similar position?"

When Covid-19 came to Texas my world shrunk rapidly. I stopped going to class, seeing my friends, and I started telecommuting for work and school. It was arguably easy in the beginning, I really enjoyed working in my pj’s and on my patio. However, after months of being alone in my apartment I noticed how deeply depressed and angry I was about the people not taking Covid-19 seriously and desperately missing my loved ones. A quote I live by and remind myself daily is “your mind is the garden, your thoughts are the seeds, you can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds.” My advice for others with cystic fibrosis is to take care of your garden because it is just as important as your physical health. This quote is a gentle reminder to take care of myself and recognize that I needed to work on my garden. I talked to my parents on the phone, and we evaluated the risk of my moving home to live with them until I could get vaccinated. Together we decided that my coming home was an appropriate risk as we are all incredibly careful and barely left the house. Being around my family made a huge difference in my mental health and I started to grow the most beautiful flowers in my garden.