Everyone has a story. Every story is different. Every story has a purpose. I think the beauty of being able to tell your story to others is that it enables you to gain perspectives from people, make connections, and learn. 
 
With that being said, my story starts in October of 2010, almost exactly 13 years ago. My mom, Marilyn, is known for decorating her house perfectly for whatever season we are in during the year. I remember October 28, 2010, like it was yesterday – fall colors all over the house while watching the Giants and Rangers play in the World Series with my family. Who knew that was going to be the day that our family's entire day-to-day life was about to change forever? 
 
A few days before, my mom found a lump on her left breast. On October 28th, she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. I was 8 and my sister was 5 at the time. I was aware what cancer was, but obviously did not know what that would look like or how it would affect my own life. During a three-year span, my mom fought. She had numerous chemotherapy and radiation treatments along with a plethora of surgeries. It is an unfathomable feeling seeing your mother on her potential death bed. 
 
Looking back at this time in my life, I think about how I truly got through this, how my mom got through this and how the rest of my family got through this. Yes, the amazing doctors and many different kinds of medication healed my mom from a physical standpoint, but what I realized during that time is that it is so much more than just the physical healing. It wasn't like my dad, sister or myself could use medication or world-class doctors to heal the pain of seeing our loved one suffer and have our lives change completely. We have obviously had so many conversations as a family, talking about what really healed us. We realized it was a simple word - belief.
 
Did any of us want this? Absolutely not. But what choice did we have? We could either all shy away from the adversity that hit our family, or stay together and believe that we will get through this time. I can't thank my parents enough for being able to relay that message to us. My mom, even during her rounds of chemo, would still be at all of my games, pick me and my friends up from school and take us to get ice cream, and love me unconditionally every single day. She did this because she believed that she was going to be OK. The belief is what fueled her to keep getting up when she was knocked down. Even at my young age I saw times that it seemed like the adversity would just not stop hitting my mom and dad, but the belief never wavered. 
 
The belief worked. My mom will be celebrating 13 years of survival this Saturday, and is completely cancer free. It is only fitting that she also just completed her memoir about her cancer journey this week called "Hummingbird Courage." She tells the story a whole lot better than I do. 
 
I feel so grateful to be able to tell this story, not only because I get to talk about the amazing person that my mother is, but to also offer up my perspective on adversity. Adversity is going to hit you when you least expect it. It has happened to me before and it will happen again. The most important thing that you can do is have belief. Believe that you are going to be OK because you will be OK. It may sound simple, but it helped my mom and family survive cancer. 
 
I look forward to being able to compete this week against USC on Saturday, October 28 -  a day that has a lot of importance to me. I am so excited to represent this school as well as recognize my mom. 
 
With love and belief,
J.T. Byrne