All my life I have been surrounded by strong, intelligent, and driven women.  As you can imagine, this was sometimes very intimidating.  Everyone, including my mom, seemed to know what they wanted out of life, and I had both lots of ideas and no clue at the same time.  It took me a long time to figure out where I wanted my life to go and what I wanted my life to mean.  It isn’t any of the plans that I thought about when I was younger.  Then my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and as ever the over-achiever, the worst kind of breast cancer.  It flipped me for a loop.  It took me a long time to process, which was made more difficult because I lived several hours away and couldn’t easily visit.  But that was an excuse.  I didn’t want to see one of the strongest women I had ever known suffering through cancer.  After a year of treatment, for which she struggled through but came out the other side, I had a chance to re-evaluate my thought process and my decisions.  I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror.  Here was a woman who has always been there for me, but I couldn’t do the same because I was afraid to see her suffering.  It is one of the biggest regrets in my life.  I should have been there to support her.  I can tell you that I won’t make that decision again.  When my mom was diagnosed with kidney cancer, you can bet I was in the hospital for the surgery.  I learned two very important lessons from my mom’s cancer.  The first is that life is short, don’t waste time.  Do something that scares you, and all the things that interest you.  The second is take time for family.  Be there for the good and the bad, but be there.