Christina Costa

Thank you for making me feel brave when I sometimes felt the opposite.

I think the universe might think it's funny that a psych instructor and researcher who studies well-being ended up with a brain tumor.

The truth is that we need more awareness and more research regarding brain tumors and brain cancer.

Doctors can't exactly predict how my tumor will behave, and really, none of us can predict what our lives are going to be like exactly.

But what I hope I can show you is that we can also be grateful for the unexpected challenges.

I don't want to dismiss people who may find the fight narrative empowering.

I also don't want to suggest that it's by any means easy to find ways to be grateful in dealing with adversity.

This has been the hardest thing that I've ever had to do.

But I do want to empower those that feel like me, that there's another way to go through whatever your journey may be, that loving your body doesn't have to be conditional,

and that by practicing gratitude, we can actually wire our brains to help us build resilience.

And lastly, I hope everyone, no matter where you are or what you are doing, can take a second to kiss your own brain and thank it for all that it does for you.