Humans are intriguing. They are brought into a world of unknowns, yet are capable of learning what seems to be an endless amount. People say, “you get wiser as you grow older” through life lessons and experiences, but no one speaks about the inevitable challenges we face. It is true that people indeed lose and fail; however, by overcoming these hardships with resilience, we can achieve our fullest potential.
On February 1st, 2005, a cry emerged from hospital room 238. A beautiful mother had just given birth to a chocolate brown-eyed girl with a soft round belly. The precious baby looked perfect, sounded perfect, even smelled perfect. After a couple of days had passed, the mom dressed herself in her thick winter jacket and placed the doll-like baby in a swaddle. The young mother could not wait to bring the bundle of joy home. She left the hospital with a glowing smile because everything was perfect, at least that’s what she thought.
The parents stared at the red, inflamed skin—they knew it was eczema. This led the doctor to prescribe a common ointment to soothe her itchy skin, which soon became useless chemicals. Nothing worked. The fragile, thin baby skin ripped and rebuilt constantly. The severe eczema took over all of their lives and as the girl developed, so did the eczema. Her skin had a mind of its own. Some days scratches bled; other days they would be perfectly healed—each day was a mystery. She had been to hundreds of doctor appointments, countless hospitals, and dealt with an unbearable number of needles. Seeing the young girl with clear skin was a rare sight.
Eyes followed everywhere the girl and her family went. Other kids stared, criticized, and excluded her. It was not hard for her to see what was different about her, but it was hard for her to accept that difference. When she was not smiling or laughing, she was imagining what it would be like to be “normal”—to not feel like she had all the worst kinds of attention (on her). She felt as though everyone avoided her; they were scared to make eye contact. As time went on and she became a teenager, she believed every part of her was ugly. One cut ruined her night. One stare ruined her day. One scar ruined her year. This thought process dominated her mind until she realized why she was chosen to have this life. She began to tell herself that the staring kids were just curious, the scars were her battle wounds, and she was lucky to be alive. She overcame hatred and the terrible thoughts.
The girl is me, Olivia Lee. After years of different treatments, doctors, needles, and hospital visits, I sit here writing my story with the best skin I’ve had since I was born. I often wonder to myself after all the pain and tears, “Why haven’t I given up? There is no cure for this condition. What am I waiting for?” You see, even after all the difficulties and heartbreaking events that take place in life, we continue to long for another day. Our day may not have been perfect, or even close to alright, but we still fight. We recognize the differences between a bad day and a bad life. With my chronic eczema, I have been beaten down, ridiculed, and pushed to my limits, but every time I have gotten back up to live for another sunrise. Through sorrow and pain, we push to become the best version of ourselves, and that, that is resilience.
Olivia Lee is a sophomore at Lower Merion High School.
