Bad things happen all the time; but how you choose to manage them is what matters most. I could choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss; or, I could choose to rise from the pain and cherish the most precious gift I have: life itself. (Walter Anderson.) My mother died right after I was born. Shortly after, my father left the country and traveled to the United States with the goal of finding a job that would allow his family to improve their lifestyle. On March 23, 1991, a civil war broke out, known as the Sierra Leone Civil War. This war took everything from me and turned my life upside down. It brought so much tragedy; it took away my grandmother, educational opportunities, and left me with a lifetime of physical and emotional scars. The war left me in a coma, bleeding and burned limbs. After the war ended, I was found and immediately rushed to the hospital where the difficulties of a new beginning began. The doctors did not want to treat me; They thought I was beyond treatment and should die in peace...