Senior High Cycle 4: Model Bootcamp - WINNER ANNOUNCED

Hello, my name is Ellie Andrews and I'd like to talk about my journey and how I overcame life's obstacles to get to where I am today. I am 18 years old and I currently live in California. I graduated from high school not too long ago actually, and that was where my journey began. I was just 14 years old when I was diagnosed with cancer.. Excuse me for not mentioning what type but it's way too traumatic for me to tell you. The first year of high school where young girls were obsessing about boys and makeup and their future, and then there was me.. having hospital appointments, chemotherapy, crying myself to sleep at night wondering if I will ever have a future.. wondering if I'll ever wake up the next day to see the sunny sky of California again. When I was 14, I had given up hope in myself and my faith, trust, and belief in all good were taken away from me by this disease. It ate me from the inside out.. tormented my heart and corrupted my sanity. This cancer completely took over me.

Around the age of 16, I had finally beaten this cancer. Trust me, it was a relief but there was always that side of me that I will never forget. That side of me where I questioned my own faith and my love for myself. I won't lie, I was weak and lonely. I had a mother and a little brother, yet I never felt apart of their family; perhaps it was better that way. Anyway, this cancer took a part of me that I can never get back. Also it took things from me that would take time to get back.. I had lost all my hair from chemotherapy and my skin was terribly pale and sometimes blue, I was ashamed of myself and what had become of me. I was completely depressed and suffered from anxiety. I went through my entire 4 years of highschool crying in the stalls, rushing home after school so I can hide and being that one sad creepy kid in the back of the class. Every night I cried and prayed.. if there was a God out there; I hope he would save me from this terrible fate. God.. I want to be strong and beautiful, I'm tired of hiding and the tears running down my face.. I want to be someone.. not just anyone.. I want to find me.

When I turned 17, it was the turning point in my life where I realized I had to get up and take charge for myself. Be who I want to be and don't let anyone get in the way of my goals. If someone runs at me, let them run because we aren't chasing the same dreams and I'll go at my own pace as long as I achieve my goals along the way. I learned not to take crap from anyone and be independent. I appreciated my family more than I did as a child and I stepped out of my comfort zone to make friends. I decided to take initiative in my health and work towards a healthier lifestyle, a better life. I eat organically and sometimes the occasional spicy chipotle chicken wings here and there haha. I love exercising the most out of this healthy life because when I exercise I can feel my body burn and the endorphins just kick in to the point I can feel bliss and my stress is completely relieved.

Anyway, I'll close my biography with this; no matter what anyone tells you, even yourself.. you can achieve great things no matter what point you are in life (low or high). I feel stronger and better than I was 4 years ago, and I am even more ready to take on greater challenges in my life and test my abilities to the max.