The morning air was crisp and the early birds singing at my bedroom window filled the silence of the house. I don't remember waking up to the alarm, but I remember the restless night I had experienced. The sharp pain still lingered in my abdomen, identical to how the stench of cigarettes asphyxiates wallpaper. An excruciating pain that prevented me from sleeping well at night, yet I was excited. It was the first day of my first course in the veterinary technician program. Nothing would have stopped me from participating, nothing. Although I couldn't help but think: why was I still in so much pain? There were no complications during my son's birth in December, so that can't be the case. Implants placed to discourage pregnancy were removed after being rejected, but that was well over a month ago. Putting that thought aside, I made the 30-minute drive to school. Everything started as expected and I felt like I had finally found my true calling in life. Then it happened. My doctor's appointment was scheduled for the first week of class, and I was anxious to finally get the long-awaited answers about the source or cause of my pain. But the news I received left me dumbfounded. My body became numb, comparable to when I was thrown into a sea of ​​ice where I had no time to react. Frozen in time, the doctor's words floated in mid-air, my mind would not accept these words, so I stood looking at them as if they were solid masses before my eyes. Fibromyalgia: a disease that doctors are still studying and that many know little about. How could this happen? How did I contract this disease? All these questions were running through my mind. When the doctor had no answer, the questions derailed from their thoughtful path and w...... middle of paper...... my children will be victims. Knowing what life is really like, it may not be possible. At least now we know the predispositions. It's been 9 months since my diagnosis and I'm still learning coping mechanisms and pain management. However, not everything is 100%. In a perfect world it would be, but also in a perfect world there would be no disease or illness. I can only hope for the best and continue living life as I have for the past 28 years. There may be many changes in my life, some are worse than others, and instead of seeing them as disadvantages I will see them as a metamorphosis. At the end of this journey I will emerge a stronger person, able to withstand the fire and brimstone, so to speak. For now I will continue to smile and live life with my head held high, even if my body is a battlefield full of constant pain and suffering..