Thursday, February 7, 2013

My Faith in Humanity

I rarely do anything with this blog anymore and it's true that nobody pays attention to it anymore, but I just wanted to share something.

I have Cystic Fibrosis and I'm in college over 1,000 miles away from home in a completely different climate, complete with elevations close to 5,000 feet above sea level. You'd think I'm crazy, and I probably am, but here's the thing...

People are very understanding. And I'm really grateful for that.

You see, one of my dormmates (she lives in my apartment but not my bedroom) recently got ill. The basic respiratory symptoms and low grade fever that can accompany some colds and whatnot. She knew that those are bad things for a little CF-er, so she avoided me for 3 days. Didn't touch me, washed her hands all the time, and went out of her way to keep me healthy.

A few days later, I was sitting in my room and coughing through an episode of my favorite TV show on Netflix and another dormmate knocks on my door and peeks her head in. She says, "Are you okay? I heard you coughing...do you need something?"

Let me just tell you that the world is full of really great people. Regardless of your situation, if you have a severe case of Cystic Fibrosis or a mild case of diabetes or the only case of a disease rarely heard of in your area, people are wonderful. They may not completely understand your life of our experiences. And they probably can't do a lot to help. But they'll be there.

I just wanted to share that with you. Never be afraid to tell someone you're different. Never be afraid to ask for help. I like to believe that people are generally good. And that hope really gets me through the days, especially in circumstances that don't seem like the best for someone like me. It doesn't matter who it is, a roommate or a best friend or a teacher or a tutor or a parent, someone is going to be looking out for you. Thank someone who keeps you going today. They probably deserve a thanks every now and then.

Keep Hope,

Cystic Sister @----