Here's the thing

Roommates at a Mario Birthday Party

  People are really good at feeling sorry for you. They love to show sympathy and they love to tell you sob stories to show you how things will look up eventually and they love to tell about other people's lives hoping to share hope. But here's the thing: We have found hope already ourselves.
  I have had the absolute pleasure of getting to know two amazing women who have and are still going through absolute Hell. Mardi Thomas has been someone I've looked up to ever since sophomore year of high school. She was in Student Council and one of the funniest people I had gotten to know from a distance. Just last year, she was rushed into emergency surgery to remove a brain tumor. She had to shave off her long, gorgeous hair as part of the surgery. Ask any girl, the answer will most likely be the same: if given the choice to A) Joke about shaving their head or
B) Actually shave their head, most would pick option A. I have since been able to truly look up to Mardi and call her a dear friend; I would not be able to go through what I'm going through if I didn't have her support. My junior year of high school I had the chance to meet and get to know Sarah Hicken. She was a softball fanatic who loved sloths. To this day, when I see a sloth, I think of her. She has recently been diagnosed with stage four cancer and has already gone through, I believe, three rounds of chemotherapy. She is a senior in high school. Prayers should be said for her and support should be with her every step of the way. What an amazing example she has been to me. I haven't even heard her complain.

At a Casual Emo Party

  Monday March 2 is the day I find out if I have MS, also known as Multiple Sclerosis. The symptoms are adding up and it feels highly likely that I have found my diagnosis. There is a stigma about MS. It is apparently awful and terrifying. Enough people have put on their Sympathy Faces that I have learned to be scared. There are enough people pulling a Straight Face that I have learned to just suck it up. There was even one person who told me that I was an inconvenience and to "get over it; it's not like you have ALS," that I have learned to believe that no one could ever love a cripple. That was months ago and I'm still trying to unlearn what he taught me. Here's the thing. Life is inconvenient and anyone who cannot love or even accept what appears as short comings, they are not someone needed to get to know. Once someone told me, "The pieces of yourself people are demanding you to change now will be the very same pieces others will celebrate in the future. The only difference will be the confidence in yourself." 

Roommates at a fireside

  I have a confession: I have joined The Tinder. This semester has proven to be hectic and busy; I simply do not have the time to find new people to get to know and The Tinder was an easy way to find those people. Here's another confession: I have found The Tinder to be incredibly dull and lacking of invention. The audience of The Tinder have a limited vocabulary and I must say that I am not amused. I discourage the vulgarity and I disappoint those that want something to last for only a night. Needless to say, I am not the type of person The Tinder was meant for. However, on occasion I meet the Silver Lining of The Tinder. I have found many people that I value and I am interested in knowing better.
  The new roommates have been absolutely stellar. We've already thrown at least three parties and have planned countless more. They're going on a cruise for Spring Break and have started working out and eating healthier; they have invited me to join them on their health plan even though I am not going on the cruise for work purposes. I have very seldom met women so kind, loving, and fun.
  So here's the thing. People can be cruel. People can be nasty. People can be incredible. The whole point is to find those people and hold on tight because there's this thing called life and it is one wild ride.