Every day is a new day with endless possibilities. If I've learned anything so far, it's that I should live every day to the fullest that I can live it. Of course I have days and even weeks where I'll just stay home and relax, but eventually I have to go on another crazy adventure, or else I'll be rather unpleasant to be around. One would think that my life experiences would tame me, and in some ways they have, but I also need an outlet in life to let out all of my pent-up energy and satisfy my need to experience and learn new things regularly. 

But the way life certainly tamed me is by teaching me to avoid unnecessary suffering. I struggled to get along with my peers outside of school, especially in high school, because they regularly played with fire in their free time. I never enjoyed going to loud and wild parties or tempting fate in really dumb ways like many of my peers did. My peers thought I was boring because I didn't even think about doing the things they did. I take calculated risks. I don't usually do things without thinking first. Usually.

I'm still immature in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to the humor I find funny. While I can enjoy a good, intelligent joke every once in awhile, I thrive on Jackass style humor. I'm not ashamed to admit that I relate to that humor on a personal level. No, I don't purposefully put myself in harm's way just for a laugh, but my health issues really force me to laugh, because otherwise the only alternative is to cry. 

Cystic Fibrosis is more than just a lung disease. I can't digest food because CF clogs up my digestive system much like it clogs up my lungs. Unfortunately, I can't unclog my digestive system like I can unclog my lungs. I just have to rely on medication to digest food for me, but even the best digestive medication in the world isn't as good as an actual digestive system. Because of this, I suffer from indigestion often, especially when I eat something I really shouldn't. 

Trips to the bathroom are hardly ever short and pleasant for me. While I have an entire bathroom to myself at home, and no one questions me when I'm in there, I don't have these luxuries anywhere else. I usually try to limit what I eat and how much I eat when I'm out of town, especially if I'm staying with relatives who don't completely understand my condition. But, that usually results in other health issues, such as feeling hungry all of the time, losing weight, and getting very stressed out. I'm never easy to be around when I'm even a little bit hungry, and my mood only gets worse the hungrier I get. 

I try to limit my time spent with those relatives. I love them, obviously, but my health is just as important. I hate being harassed by uncomfortable questions regarding my health by those who seem to forget my answers in minutes. Of course, there are other people in my life, like Clarke, who I'm comfortable talking about my health with, but that's because they understand, at least to a certain extent, and can laugh along with me. 

My paternal relatives in Minnesota understand my condition the best. My grandpa Bob suffered numerous health conditions throughout his life, most notably a brain aneurysm that took away his ability to walk and talk with ease. He still got on with life, and he never complained about his condition. He never really talked a lot about his condition either. To him, it was just life, and instead of thinking about how much his body failed him, he needed to just get on with life the best way he knew how. He did everything he could, and never thought about the things he couldn't do. 

Because of his condition, his family, most notably his wife, my grandma Shirley, did almost everything for him. He could still feed himself with some difficulty, and dress himself, but he often needed help bathing and going to the bathroom. When my grandma wasn't around to help him, there were other family members around who could. Most of my family still lives within a mile radius of each other, so my grandpa was never truly alone. My uncle Wade lives on a farm about a mile down the road from my grandparents' farm, and in between the two farms lives my uncle Wes, who doesn't really farm but still has a large house and lots of land for his family to enjoy. 

Because of my grandpa's health issues, my family out in Minnesota easily understand and respect my health issues, which are similar to my grandpa's in some ways. Like my grandpa did, I take a ton of pills. And, like my grandpa, I also spend a lot of time in the bathroom. My grandma has health issues stemming from diabetes, so she knows how to cook great food that won't make me or her sick. But best of all, my entire family shares the same sense of humor I have, which makes my trips to Minnesota a breath of fresh air rather than a great source of anxiety.