I was sixteen years old when we found out that my mother had Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I am an only child and to hear this about my best friend, my mom, was devastating. Plus, to look at her she looked so normal and healthy, it was hard to imagine that she could have a disease that would eventually take her life. My mom lived for almost seventeen years with the disease, through all her treatments she …showed first 75 words of 1186 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1186 total…remember the happy times we shared and make those happy memories with my own family. One of the biggest lessons that I learned, is that life is short and it is only what we make of it ourselves. I have forever changed my way of thinking and realize that I am responsible for my own destiny. I have two daughters that I hope to pass on some of the traits my mom instilled in me.