October 22, 2003
Dear Friends and Family,
October 22 seems to always sneak up on me. I guess I can always tell when it is approaching because it is around October that I become very philosophical. You might say it is a fault of mine to find meaning in all of the events in my life, and I know that my Glad to Be Alive Day holds so much meaning to me, but also hopefully to you, my friends and family. This day is a celebration of life, not only the big events in life but also the small and forgotten things that happen every day. A smile from a friend, the way the wind feels in your hair while driving with the windows down, or even just sitting still in the quietness of your room and appreciating the things that you have in life. I know that it is hard in the chaos of everyday living to take time to just sit still for a minute and think about life, but that is what I hope my Glad to Be Alive Letter accomplishes this year. I hope that you will be able to reflect over your lives on October 22, and think of what it means to you to be alive. It doesn't matter what time in your life you think about, be it past, present, or future, but I hope you find how the events in that time have, are, or will affect you. I have taken my own advice and done just that.
I know that my past has taught me life is short and never take it for granted. It has taught me to expect the unexpected and to live with changes life sends us because there is usually nothing you can really do about it. My present is the thing that is giving me the most trouble and stress. Well that and the future. I am a senior in high school and will be graduating this May. I have decided that it is time to grow up. Yes, like Peter Pan, I hoped never to grow old and always stay a kid. The perks of being a kid were too good to refuse, but I have come to face the inevitable. It's hard growing up, but I am doing good. I am doing my college planning, and here I must say that my Dad is an angel sent from heaven and that he is the coolest guy I know. He has actually been doing all of it, and so I owe him. It is scary not knowing how he will want me to pay him back for the countless hours he has spent. I am hoping to go to college on the east coast. I hope that I will be in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Nashville, or Washington D.C. I am planning on majoring in either biomedical engineering or biology. Most of you are probably thinking go with the biology it sounds easier, and I can assure you it probably will be. I want to do research either in creating artificial organs or tissues, or in stem cell research or possibly even drug delivery, and this is what a lot of biomedical engineers do. It is an exciting time to do research of this type, and ever since I did a project on growing red blood cells I have been fascinated, thanks Lia. And so this is where my future lies, college and graduate school. I am looking forward to it all. I can't wait to live in a major metropolitan area, and I fell in love with the east coast 6 years ago at an oncology camp in Maine. I know that I want to travel, and travel a lot. I want to see the world, and experience it first hand.
I am doing well in school and keeping my grades high. I drove my Beetle decked out with balloons in my Homecoming Parade for the German Club I am in at school, and I went to the Homecoming Dance last weekend. I am happily and excitedly doing all the things a "normal" 17 year old does, all of things that God was kind enough to grant me. This winter I plan on skiing again with the group from Children's which will be my last year to do so. And here in parting I want to tell you what I feel when I am up on the mountain. I feel more alive than I have ever felt before. It is at these times that I know anything is possible, no matter what your life has been or is. It is always towards the future that we look, and it is in the future that our hopes lie. My dreams are coming true before my eyes. I am graduating from high school, going to prom, and going off to college, all when everyone including myself thought I would never see my 12th birthday. Dreams do come true, so believe in your dreams and never let someone tell you that they are impossible because impossible things are happening everyday. May your dreams come true ans mine have for me.
With love,
Emily
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