My sister, Amy, was diagnosed with lupus in 2001 at age 12. At first I thought the red spots on her face was just the signs of puberty. But one morning she couldn’t get out of bed because her body ached. Her hair started falling out, she is constantly tired, her skin is paler than sand, and she has to take six pills a day. We found out my sister had lupus. Despite her fatigue from lupus, Amy has managed to maintain an A in all five of her advanced placement classes and rank third out of 603 seniors. She aspires for greatness even though her future is unpredictable. On top of her illness, she is also extremely shy. But she has not let that stop her. Amy participated in the poetry out loud contest at school, then won and went to represent her school at the district level. She ran for parliamentarian in student council and although she lost she did not let it bring her down. After losing that election, she ran for secretary of the Junior Classical League. This time she was victorious.
Amy’s triumphs and failures taught me to not be afraid of trying and failing. Because of her encouragements I ran for vice president of National Junior Honor Society in eighth grade. Thanks to her support I became the vice president of NJSH at Central Junior High. This led to my later position as president of National Junior Honor Society and my current position as vice president of National Honor Society. She has always been by my side all my 17 years. Amy’s persistence, diligence, trust, faith, honesty, and love inspires me to face and conquer all of my obstacles. The future may be unclear but Amy will always be my hero.