The Pearls of Catharsis Times Issue 02, Dec 2016 | Page 23

A person could have cancer and write a book. A person could have cancer and wear makeup with a pretty dress on and look amazing. Just because we have cancer that does not stop us from being ourselves although cancer changes how you look. You lose your hair, your eyebrows and you start to feel insecure. Your self esteem starts dropping when all you have to know is bald or not, fleek eyebrows, eyebrows on drug or no eyebrows at all doesn ' t define who you are. Cancer doesn ' t define who you are. The thing about people is, they often treat people differently. You see a cancer patient, you give them advice which is not a bad thing you tell them stuff that they already know. You treat them as though they have nothing else to do other than having cancer. Truth is some people are like that. I have friends telling me that they can cure my cancer and here ' s the thing when you ' re in a bad situation you know who your real friends are. Everyone wants to be the sun in your happiest days but who will be your moon in your darkest night? That ' s when and how you ' ll know who you ' re real friends are. Just because a person is currently battling a life threatening illness that doesn ' t mean we have to treat them that way and judge them for being sick. Being bald is not a crime so please don ' t look at us as though it is. Staring is a normal thing anyone would do without even realizing. Staring at a bald person is okay but giving us that really long stare as though being bald is a bad thing makes us feel uncomfortable. Bald is unique. Bald is being comfortable in your own skin. Bald is beautiful. Here ' s the everyone with a bald head, don ' t hide. Show people even if someone tells you not to. Be proud of who you are and wear that bald head proudly. Cancer is bad. It ' s a monster that everyone wished it gets cancer and dies. Every year on Christmas I ' ll make a list of the things I ' d wish for on a piece of paper wishing Santa would see them and make some magic happen. As I get older, I realize that my Christmas lists gets shorter because the things I want as the things that money cannot buy. I would like to say, thank you God for giving me the hardest battle a 17 year old girl could ever imagine. Thank you cancer for making me stronger than I was four months ago when I walked into the doctor ' s office to open up the stitches from my stomach surgery.