“My dream for the future is…”

As I prepare for the next step in my life, I find myself sorting through my past. When I was born my parents were told that by the time I was eighteen I would have trouble climbing a flight of stairs. Thankfully, my reality at age eighteen is much brighter. I am going to run track and cross country at Oklahoma Wesleyan University. My dream for the future is to keep pushing the boundaries and expectations of a person living with Cystic Fibrosis. My goal is to not be dragged down by the what ifs of my illness. I plan to go to college and earn my masters degree in elementary education and coaching. I want to continue running and have a family someday.

In a broader sense, my goal for the future would be to continue what my parents started a long time ago. I will strive to take the very best care of myself that I can and will continue to promote physical fitness to other members of the CF community. I suppose that, like most eighteen year olds, part of the excitement of standing at this threshold is not to know the exact path my life will take. My first step is to take a look back and cherish the memories of my life so far. After that, I will be ready to cross the threshold and see where my life leads me.