Lifestyle

When My Friend Battled Illness And Became An Entrepreneur, I Learned That No Dream Is Unachievable

by Danni Renee

There's this girl I met through a friend of a friend of a friend. Over time, I noticed that everybody knew her: local business owners, organizations. I even saw her on the city's news channel.

I figured she might be some kind of socialite who's big in the nightlife scene, or maybe her parents are rich or something along those lines.

The thing about her, however, is she's just like you and me on the outside: 20-something, recent college graduate, happy and has a cute little puppy that's all over her Instagram. Even though we aren't that close of friends, I remember this girl for what she does and the hand she's been dealt.

She showed me how to live for passion, with humility and despite hardships, and it's beautiful.

She has rheumatoid arthritis, a painful, chronic disease from inflammation of the joints. It involves medication and because it's internally painful, usual daily activities take more effort. The disease can also spread to organs.

However, between self-injections and doctor visits, right after college, she opened her own clothing boutique. She is the owner and tackled entrepreneurship by not allowing this disease to take over her life.

Now, she's making a name for her new online store that promotes nothing beyond living in the moment and gives back to causes about which she is passionate.

Recently, the disease spread to her organs, which heightened the condition, but didn’t halt the launch of her brand. This is the epitome of passion and we should all take note.

Seeing her young successes, I found myself wondering how she did it. It wasn't magic; it was her strength and positive mentality.

She attributed her success to a desire to make a difference in the world exceeded the fear that creates a comfort zone. Once she decided to not let her disease run her life, she became what she wanted to be.

Her story is proof of the power of optimism and the force of passion. It wakes you up in the morning, and it defeats any kind of physical pain, mental pain and heartache you may encounter. It works in silence and lets success makes the noise. It follows your rules and lives up to only your own expectations.

Her story intends to spread awareness about rheumatoid arthritis but can also spread some inspiration to people who do not suffer from the disease.

From one 20-something to another 20-something, she allowed me to see that we all have the power to bring our dreams to fruition without allowing hardships to bar us from success.

Every second, someone is diagnosed with something; someone fails at a goal, loses a loved one or even gets hurt. At that same second, the world keeps moving, the Earth keeps spinning and time keeps ticking. We, as humans, have mass. We occupy space with matter, so YOU matter.

What you do with your time can move mountains. Once you do that, move another. Do you go to class and soak everything up or do you text your class time away? Do you say you want to start a business but not start networking, researching and finding the next step?

Everything you want is possible; all you have is a claim on the life you want. Just make the decision to act.

If you ever feel defeated, just remember that your passion is waiting for you to envision yourself obtaining it. Sometimes, this means believing in that one idea or possibility about which you've always wondered.

Grasp it. Move forward with it in your fists, even if it's risky; even if you’re physically hurting; even if someone says you won't make it so far.

Move forward and keep going. Once you get to where you want to be, you can be the predecessor to spread inspiration to the next 20-something who is also trying to find his or her way.

Like my friend who spread inspiration from her disease, figure out how to make an obstacle work for you and the life you want. All you have to do is decide; take action and that magnitude of strength you didn't know you had will guide your way.

Photo Courtesy: Tumblr