What Am I Doing Here?

So, I’m here. I finally made a blog after years of being on the fence about it. 

Why now, you ask? 

In short, I made this mostly because my mom pushed me to do it haha. 

Honestly, I've lost count of how many times people have told me I should write a book or have a blog about what I've been through. Starting a blog about this really is something I've wanted to do for a long time too. It's just that when I first got sick I didn't like to talk about being sick. At all. Practically in the blink of an eye being sick became my whole life, so obviously I didn't want to talk about what I was already living with 24/7. 

Only sick people will really understand that...

Once I started to get better I started opening up more about what I've gone through to family and friends. But I was determined to stay focused on school and not get too distracted with other things (such as creating a blog.) Once I was well enough to start doing school again I made it a top priority. Largely because I missed two years of school and knew it would be a struggle to catch up. It really was hard to catch up too, but my focus and determination is how I got it done. Now, I’ve got it all done, and a few months early too.

Since I just finished school and have a few months off until school starts again in the fall, and I feel ready to tell my story, I felt like this was the perfect time to start this. 

I have a long story and my first post is just barely the tip of the iceberg in telling it. I've learned tons and I want to share what I've learned. I have tips and tricks that I've learned over the years on how to cope and get through the ups-and-downs of being chronically ill. 

What I've been through isn't just relatable to other Lyme patients either. It parallels what so many other types of chronic illness patients go through every day. Symptom wise chronic illnesses can vary quite a bit, but the way we all live day-to-day is so much more similar than we all realize. 

What I've been through is relatable to all sorts of sick people. 

I was fairly young when I got sick with Lyme. I was 14 and now I’m 18. I’ve grown up while being sick. How I’ve grown up from a sick kid to a sick young adult gives me a unique point of view where that I can understand and relate to so many different ages of sick people.

• Kids can relate to me. I've grown up as a sick kid. I was young enough when I first got sick that I could/still can imagine how a kid would process getting sick. 
• I was a teenager, so therefore I completely can understand a teenagers mindset while going through an illness. 
• Now I'm 18. I was forced to grow up a lot due to my situation, and since I spent all of my time with adults, I understand an adults perspective too. 
• Not just that but I've been very close with my mom through all of this so I can understand a caretakers mentality. 
• I also know people who have Lyme too so I know how it feels to have a friend who has Lyme. 
• Last but not least, my brother has Lyme too so I know how it feels to have a sick sibling. 

I empathize for and can understand such a wide spectrum of mindsets of people who are effected by chronic illnesses. Thats why I’m here. I feel like my input on the topic of chronic illnesses and everything that goes with it could be very relatable and it has the potential to help a wide variety of people too.  

I feel like I can help people understand this undereducated and misunderstood topic; chronic illnesses and what it’s like to live with it. Plus, I feel like I can comfort and maybe help people who are going through what I've been through too.

What is my goal with this blog? 

I’m here to share my story, share what I've learned, teach people about Lyme and talk about what it's like to live with a chronic illness. I want to spread awareness for the illnesses that nearly cost me my life, and my ultimate goal is that I effect someone. If I effect just one person than I've done what I wanted to do here. 

I want to make a difference.…That’s why I’m here. 

My goal is to make a difference.