In 2019, Crohn’s disease consumed my world. I couldn’t control my health. I didn’t go outside for months because my body remembered the seemingly unassuming summer day when I was diagnosed. Crohn’s was the chapter president of my body. I didn’t get to decide if I wanted to spend time with my family, my energy did. I couldn’t choose when I got to read, my migraines did. Pain was always at the top of the meeting minutes. My goals, aspirations, and emotional needs took a back seat to the Crohn’s, and I saw no value in presenting those things to the “board.” I had to learn that “yes” and “no” were not binary choices, despite how much it may seem so. Honoring my younger self didn’t mean going beyond my body’s means to say “yes” to everything. It meant growth. At the time I wasn’t compromising my boundaries, I was just readjusting them to allow for growth. I had to apologize to my younger self for letting go of my core values. Wellness looks a little different for me as a chronically ill person. A healthy diet for me consists mainly of carbs because of the low-fiber diet I’m supposed to eat with my Crohn’s, and the intolerances I have developed to meat and dairy. Though my fiber intake has to be limited, I also incorporate as many fruits and vegetables as I can within my fiber limit. Intense exercise flares my symptoms, so I often do some light stretching to include movement in my day. I know firsthand that staying as healthy as possible comes first over anything else. It’s hard to live life without a decent bill of health. If I’m being honest, Crohn’s disease has been super tough on my mental health. Keeping up with my skincare, attending therapy, and manicuring my nails are all self-care things that aid in keeping me afloat. As a student, I maintain my mental and physical health by asking for disability accommodations & taking breaks as needed. It does get hard to maintain these habits; a lot of days I just want to lay in bed, but I always go by the mantra that “getting up and doing a little bit of something is always better than doing nothing”. Growth won the election and it has served me well since. Along with growth, persistence, and compromise also serve on the board. Keeping these values in mind helps me to succeed as a student. I realize the process of finding my way through life with Crohn’s isn’t going to be easy, but nothing can beat growth because it includes the challenges that come with life.