Life is full of bumps in the road. In kindergarten, I saw a ther- apist for my OCD, in 12th grade my parents divorced and the month before I committed to college I had to stressfully reconsider my second choice. Hardships suck, no doubt about it. But each bump taught me new lessons, and looking back, I realize how strong I have become throughout my time at KHS.

Having a mental illness is the most frustrating thing in the world, and it took me years to learn to control my OCD. During this time, I learned a tremendous amount about myself. I learned I am a driven person. I learned I am someone who will always be true to myself and, most importantly, I learned I am someone who knows what she wants out of life.

Another test of my strength struck on a humid night near the end of June. My parents sat my sister and I down and delivered some tough news: they were getting a divorce. At first I had no idea what to do or what to feel. I continued my daily activities as if it was normal to see my father boxing up his belongings to move into some strange home down the street. My new second home.

My parents got a divorce, but I feel lucky. Sounds strange, right? But I do. I feel lucky my parents remained open with my sister and me throughout the process and talked about any concerns we had. More importantly, I felt lucky I had such a strong and amazing sister that went through it all with me. I was able to lean on Ali for anything because I knew she would make me smile on a hard day, give me advice or just listen to me. I’ll never be able to thank her enough for all she’s done for me.

Finally, last month, I overcame another obstacle. My parents were worried they would be unable to pay for my dream college, Loyola University Chicago.
I understood their stance and buckled down to make every preparation needed to go to my second choice college, University of Missouri-Columbia, if in the end I wouldn’t be able to attend Loyola.

I was prepared to attend Mizzou, but my parents saw how pas- sionate I was about attending Loyola, even if that meant I would get two jobs on campus to help pay for the cost. In the end, they said yes to Loyola, yay! My willingness showed me how driven I have become throughout high school to achieve my dreams.

Although each bump came with stress, in the end each brought strength. I learned to be courageous and push through any obstacle. I learned to lean on my family, friends, running buddies, swim sisters, Mr. Eden and Coach Woodard. I learned to be brave, and I learned to be me.