Personal Narrative: The Immune Deficiency Foundation

In my life, I have been a leader in many situations. Ranging from school clubs such as the FFA, FCCLA, and to my favorite, The Immune Deficiency Foundation. As many instances there has been in both of those organizations that I am proud to be apart of, being a leader in The Immune Deficiency Foundation is my favorite one to tell about. I could talk about this amazing foundation for hours. With having a Primary Immune Deficiency, it is easy for me to be a leader in that community because I am able to relate my own experiences with others. For about the first fifteen years of my life, I was avoiding my disease and wanted no part of it. Being spiteful and stubborn towards it, I was never willing to take action on it. In mid 2015, we stumbled across The

The Teen Council is specially chosen by superior people apart of the foundation, to represent the teens. It’s to inspire fellow teens and younger children to stay strong and be a mentor for them. The teens chosen for this position have to have strong qualities such as courage, leadership, communicative, and kind. Not all children want to associate with other teens and are not always willing to cooperate so it can be difficult at times. I have had the opportunity to be invited to travel the country to different conferences throughout the summer to share my story and help other families struggling with similar issues. I have overcome the fear of public speaking through this and have made speeches in front of hundreds of families. I have also been on stage during a Q&A where the families may ask questions and based on your knowledge and experiences, you can help them through whatever they’re struggling with. My favorite memory was when I had traveled to North Carolina for a conference and a mother in the Q&A session had asked how to help her son cope with his disease because he was not willing to accept it. This was definitely a question meant for me to