First off, I should start with a bit of a backstory to explain this situation.

It all started a few months before my seventeenth birthday, I received a text from my mom saying "I'm in the hospital, not sure what's wrong. Can you be sure to take care of Chi Chi (our family dog)?"

I read this thinking: OK, my mom was feeling bad, she'll get some antibiotics to help her and she will be good as new in a week or two.

Well, just in case you don't know my mom, she is very transparent and hides nothing at all from anyone. She posted updates of what was going on with her on Facebook, Snapchat, etc. And not to brag on her, but my mom is a quite "popular" person, and taught 10+ years at the high school I go to.

That being said, it was not long before every person I saw asked:

"How's your mom?"

"What's going on with your mom?"

And so on... And with no concrete information, I simply had to say "We honestly don't know anything."

Well after a few weeks of doing some tests and scans the thought of "cancer" has started to become a concern. I feel like at that time cancer had not affected me first-hand.

However I know many people in my family who have had cancer, so in my mind I saw cancer as a disease you get, you fight, and... then it's over.

Boy, was I wrong.

So, after long waiting to hear what was wrong with my mom, two attempts at getting her a successful biopsy my mom told us to wait for her and Daddy to get home from the hospital.

It was just me and my sister Royce anxiously waiting in the living room to hear what the results were in person (Tori was at the lake at the time and Mom didn't want to tell her over the phone). As soon as I saw my mom with red puffy eyes, I knew that the news wasn't going to be good.

I was expecting her to say that she had stage two breast cancer and that she was going to have to get her breasts removed or some other type of cancer that she would have a surgically removed some time over the next few weeks. I was not prepared for what she was going to tell me, you see in my mind my mom is the strongest person I know and she can get through anything.

She told me and my sister that she had stage four lung cancer that had spread into other parts of her body, and that there was no simple surgery to remove the cancer.

Now, if you know me I am not a crier. I get uncomfortable around people crying, and I try to stay positive to prevent from crying. However, when I heard my mom say that she had between one and five years left of her life, my heart broke and I broke into tears. In that moment, I felt so small. I felt like our lives had just shattered into a million pieces.

You never think about your mom not being there at graduation, your wedding, or her not being there to meet your children. That is one of the worst feelings ever, but my mom raised me and my sisters to be strong and independent. She never wanted us to be reliant on other people for anything.

Now, "cancer" is a hard pill to swallow, I quickly found out that if I was going to get through this I was going to need support.

Luckily I have amazing friends who support me through anything, the day that I heard this news I wanted to tell my closest friends who I would consider my support system. I drove to my best friend Bailey's house to share the news with her and her family, I also told my best friend Ellington, and her mom Ms. Dana who is a breast cancer survivor.

Ms. Dana shared supportive words that I defiantly needed to hear at that time, I would consider Ms. Dana and Ms. Kathy second moms to me. I know that whatever happens to my mom these two women will be there for me no matter what.

Now going back to how "popular" my mom really is, she has over sixteen hundred Facebook friends and every time we go to the grocery store she sees at least ten people she knows. That being said I come in contact with an abundant amount of people who know my mom. I'm seventeen, so I go to the majority of places without my mom so people often come to me and ask how she is doing and to tell my mom that they are sending love and praying for her.

However, due to the fact that my mom is so popular, I often come home and tell her "someone said they are thinking of you, can't remember who but they said they are praying for you!"

And often when people ask how my mom is, I am hesitant to tell them if she was feeling bad that day, or she's been down lately due to the fact that I hate for people to worry about her. She is and always will be strong and positive just as she has instilled upon me.

My mom receives a constant flow of messages on her phone from relatives and old friends asking how she is, tons of flowers sent to our house, and at least three handwritten letters a day of people sending their love and support to her. My mom keeps all the letters, cards, and Bible verses she is sent in a basket in our living room.

Sometimes I don't know if my mom knows just how much I love and appreciate her.

Because in the midst of this "cancer" and constant doctors appointments, at the end of the day I am a teenager and she is my mom. We fuss and fight just like all moms and kids, she worries me making sure I packed my toothbrush for a week-long camp, and I forget to put dishes in the dishwasher occasionally.

But, at the end of the day, I love her and she loves me, and there is nothing in this world that will change that. In a sense, my mom being diagnosed with cancer has brought our family closer.

Mom, this is about to be the busiest year of my life thus far, I've got senior pictures, pep rallies, FFA events, and a lot more going on.

I know that I will be gone a lot traveling with FFA, hanging out with my friends for some of the final times before we graduate, and just out doing what teenagers do. I know that you are glad that I am out doing what I love, traveling the state and country, experiencing things some kids only dream about. I know that you just want me to be happy, but I want you to know that I love you, and appreciate all that you and Daddy do for me.

And I want you to know that if there is ever a time where you just want me to watch a movie with you, or go out to eat, or just hang out with you just let me know. I also don't want you to feel guilty for having cancer, it is NOT your fault. One of the first things you said when you told us that you had cancer was that you felt guilty because I was still a kid and that I needed you for a lot more things that I have yet to experience.

You and I both know that God has a plan for me and you and never gives us more than we can handle. I will love you forever and always. - Tripp