In Enthusiasm, I believe

March, 1
I believe in Enthusiasm. I believe the little things can inflict real joy. I believe in standing confidently, whoever you may be, not being embarrassed to be happy. I believe getting new pencils, changing your lunch up, or even some candy can change an attitude. I believe everyone who ends up lucky enough should learn the art of enthusiasm for themselves.
In the early summer of 2013 my mom was diagnosed with Lymphoma. Lymphoma is a cancer of the bones. Even though I was too naive to understand my mom was in real danger. The truth is though she probably wouldn’t be okay today, if not for her identical twin sister. Her twin was able to contribute bone marrow and my mom was able to have a transplant. Most details of her illness were not told to us to protect us from the sadness everyone else around us were drowning in. I look back on it and see a strange time, like it is a disguised nightmare.
Multiple times during her treatment, while she wasn’t feeling particularly well, we would visit the hospital. The visits were often lengthy and a lot of the time spent there was my mom asleep and my aunt speaking to doctors.
Naturally my cousins and I became bored quickly. We were to be quiet around the sick which was particularly difficult for us. We were dismissed after be scolded multiple times for not obeying the simple rule. After wandering for some time we discovered a small room. It wasn’t much. A ten by ten; maybe. With a couple of vending machines.
That room doesn’t sound like much because it wasn’t. It was the lack of doctors, and sickness, and depression we didn’t understand; that made it different. It was empty and it was almost ours. It had silly mints that aren’t really that good but seemed amazing under the circumstances. We were genuinely happy, being freed of the momentous weight of drear.
Everyone around us at the time was searching for big successes. The experience showed just how important every victory was. Humans are naturally unable to appreciate in a single moment so, being able to be happy with the little things makes a person completely different, almost inhuman in the best way. I believe the difference between satisfaction and disappointment, brightness and darkness, and happiness and sadness is enthusiasm.
Imagine a world in which everyone believed in enthusiasm. Imagine a world in which the things that are often overlooked made people sincerely gleeful. Imagine a world in which everybody was unabashedly excited. Imagine a world in which some ridiculously insignificant candy could completely re-renovate a view point. I believe enthusiasm is a gift, and a craft to be learned.

Foot note: Not a week after I wrote this for school my mom was diagnosed with Lymphoma for the second time. This time they found it much earlier and there are new treatment options. However, after getting that new treatment she will need another bone marrow transplant plant which will, I’ll put it frank, suck.