I was fortunate enough to receive an award that came with reward money on Senior Sunday to help me with college. I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunities I have, and for being recognized for being a part of ARVF. I learned a very valuable lesson this week though; to forgive.

     I found myself thinking about how a lot of people in my life, now, were not there for me when I was sick. It's hard to forgive someone when they let life come in the way of your sickness when you needed them most. But I have also realized how scary of a situation it can be to deal with. No teenager knows how to properly deal with the situation of one of their friends getting cancer, and school doesn't prepare us for that.

     At first, it was very hard for me to forgive those people. I kept thinking how could sports and school be more important when I wasn't sure if I would be alive in the following year? But seeing me probably terrified them. They didn't know how to act or what to do. I've finally become okay with what happened and forgive them. They didn't mean to do those things and were scared, just as I was. I think most of them were in denial and didn't want it to be true. That does not make what they did okay whatsoever. But they are here for me now and I learned that I want these people in my life, so I forgave them.

     If you know anyone who is sick, please go visit them. Show them what they are fighting for and that their life matters. Be there for them. Then you won't need their forgiveness later on. If I had not have survived my cancer those people would have felt beyond awful for not being there. So be there for them. Don't put it off until it's too late. Even if someone isn't sick, if they matter to you, just be there.