In all my life, I have had countless experiences with a single person that affected me forever. Not affected me in the way that someone corrected my pronunciation of 'southern' so that I would forever say it as SOUTHern (pronounced like "sowthern"), although that is something that happened. Rather, these are experiences that affect the way I see the world, the way I encounter the world, and by nature, the way the world sees me.

I have lived a relatively difficult life. I came from a family with little money, I had cancer, and I lost my best friend my freshman year of high school to suicide. I've managed to survive those things with some battle scars that feel a lot like anxiety and depression, but also with a weapon that works like optimism. Call it what you want, optimism, hopefulness, or simply a healthily-open mindset, but these are the things that seem to keep people going in the darkest of times. These are the things that help people encounter the world in a kinder, more open way.

It is because of the power of people that I am the way I am, and in sharing some of my experiences, I hope to articulate the importance of you to a number of strangers you've yet to encounter.

I remember a time when I was about 5. I really wanted a balloon, and because my dad was tired from working the fishing boats, I had to wait until he was done with his nap. I remember thinking that it'd take FOREVER, so I decided to go on a mission, by myself, to the "Balloon Store" as I thought it was called to get myself some balloons. I walked down the hill toward what I assumed was the right direction and was approached by a man in blue jeans and a tan jacket. He asked me where I was going and where my parents were, and I explained.

Okay, PAUSE: How many times have you been told not to talk with strangers? Yeah, I'm not sure if I didn't understand that concept or if I was just as rebellious then as I am now, but I did talk to that stranger. Luckily, that man did a very good thing. He saw a child potentially in danger, took her to the police station, and I was okay. It was because of him that I feel very open to strangers.

Now maybe that's dangerous sometimes, and maybe we should worry about strangers, but I have also made so many relationships and connections because I am so open to strangers. Not only that, but I have made myself a person that people can, and have, come to for advice or just to listen. I know it seems far-fetched, but the power of a person can do a lot.

Years later, in the sixth grade, I was diagnosed with cancer. A lot happened in the first week before anyone told me, but my first memory of that journey was the memory of being told that I had cancer. I remember my first reaction, "Am I going to lose my hair?"–the only time I ever saw my oncologist look surprised when she answered a very obvious, "Most likely, yes"–and my second reaction, "Am I gonna die?"

My oncologist looked at me with a confident and kind face and said "No, I don't think you will."

I know doctors aren't supposed to make promises, and I know a lot of my medical success is because of the treatments I received, but there is a certain kind of healing done though positivity. Despite all of the medical regimens my oncologist prescribed for me, simply her saying "No, I don't think you will," allowed me to begin my journey with the notion that I can get through this. Having lived 12 years of uncertainty, low self esteem, and horrible self confidence, for me to believe that I could survive cancer was a feat almost as big as beating cancer itself. I wasn't stupid, I knew that cancer was bad. But the power of a person and the power of me trusting in a person, allowed me to believe, and that is the first step in fighting.

A short time later, I became friends with two girls who I'd later go to high school with. I spent a ton of time at their house, and they were so kind and understanding of my health problems. Their mother was a huge inspiration to me, and one specific time she changed the way I am is when I was talking with her about plans. She was speaking, and I kept interrupting her (unknowingly). She eventually said "Could you please not interrupt me, it's quite rude." I felt bad initially, but then I realized that what others have to say is just as important as what I have to say and that if I listen, others will as well. Ever since that important lesson, I have become a good listener. As someone who people come to for advice, it is so important.

The power of a person is incredible. The inspiration, education, healing, love, and company I get from the people I encounter are life-changing. As someone who struggles, often, with a ton of problems from inside my own head, when someone I encounter gets into my head and changes a little cog or gear of thought, I am always left differently, and most often in better condition than how they found me. I know people are powerful, and that empowers me so that I may change people as well.

I know how much power we all have. I have seen how much we can do for each other. In times that are hard for everyone, or times that are hard for some, or times that are hardest for one, it is so important that we use the power we have inside of us to better those who are struggling, those who are naive, and those who are here, right in front of us. This is how we create a better world.