"I wish I could just die," I said to myself as my teeth chattered and my body shook with cold. Knowing I would probably still wake in the morning with my hair frozen to the door, I curled up in a ball, trying to find some warmth in the car that was my bedroom. Sadness consumed me like an infection; it had become the norm for me to wake up every day feeling broken.

Most nights like this, all I could hope for was to die in my sleep to be rid of the pain. Despite the terrible nights, I still woke up, dressed, and went to my only refuge, my high school.

This was my life, often alone, cold, sad, and hungry. My youth was different than most, but this was my reality.

However, despite the hardship that was my life and being homeless, something led me on, something saw me through. I survived, I found hope, and eventually, a life even better than I had imagined. Even though I so often faced darkness, I discovered light, laughter, and happiness.

I journeyed from that broken, homeless teenager sleeping in the car to eventually being a Medical Doctor at the world-renowned Johns Hopkins. But most important of all, I found me, I found joy.

This is my story.