Everyone says that your junior year of high school is the hardest, and I was ready for it. My freshman and sophomore year weren't the best emotionally and academically, so I was determined to make my junior year a great one. If only I knew what would happen...

In October of 2012, my mother told me four words I never wanted to hear: "I have breast cancer."

I had so many thoughts running through my head and felt so many emotions. Why her? My family, which consists of her, my brother, and I, had already been through a he!l of a lot, and this is the last thing that we needed, the last thing SHE needed. I can't lose the only parent that I've ever known.

That November, she had surgery to remove the tumor. I wanted to be at the hospital with her, but she refused. She said that it would be better for me to go to school instead of being at the hospital, waiting.

Going throughout my day was hard. I couldn't focus; all I could think was about her and how the surgery was going.

The surgery ended up being a success and she came home later that night. She was out of it, but she was alive and that was all that mattered to me.

About a month or two later, for five days a week for months, she had to get radiation. If only we knew how painful it would be. As the days went by, the pain was getting worse and worse. She was a getting third-degree burn since they were targeting where the tumor was. The pain and burn were so bad that she would be in tears and had to stop treatment for a week. I'd never seen her like this before, so broken down. It broke my heart. She didn't deserve to feel like this. I wish I could do something, anything to take the pain away, but I knew I couldn't. The only thing I could do for her was to be there when she needed me.

I learned a lot from this unexpected cancer journey. The main thing I took from this is that we need to take life one day at a time, live in the moment. The further we look ahead, the more stressed we will be. I took this into account finishing my junior year and graduating high school. I ended up graduating as part of the National Art Honor Society, with my mom proudly watching me receive my diploma.

It's been three years this past March since she finished radiation and I am forever grateful that she is still here to watch my brother and I grow up.

Never take anyone or anything for granted because you never know what will happen.

Thank you for staying strong, mom, I love you.