Claire Wineland

Growing up, I didn't have any role models that were sick that were doing anything with their life, ever. ”

I've struggled more with guys, depression drugs, family and career than I ever have with my illness. I'm not an innocent and I'm not a child. ”

When I was younger and obsessed with becoming an artist, the hospital was my New York loft apartment. I would move the furniture around to create space on the floor, throw down some sheets and indulge in any form of art that I could get my hands on. ”

I love the idea of college, but I first need to figure out how to transition to being an adult because we honestly never thought I would make it to this point. ”

I want to show people that the hospital does have its moments. The hospital is just a place, and even though it does have fluorescent lighting and white walls, it doesn't have to be a miserable experience. ”

It's OK to feel pain and experience it. I'm not trying to fix myself. My suffering has given me so much. ”

There's so much more to life than just being healthy. There's so much more to life than just being normal. ”

As I got older, my life become a whirlwind of homework and responsibilities. The hospital became my retreat, a place to gather my thoughts and focus on my health. The nurses are my friends as well as my caretakers. The doctors are my parents as well as my physicians. ”

A lot of people say when you get a short life span you want to go out and do all of this crazy stuff like go bungee jumping and travel to exotic places. But you just want to live. ”

I was only 13 years old when I was forced to face the fragility of my own life. A routine surgery landed me in a medically induced coma for two weeks with a mere 1% chance of surviving. But survive I did. ”