A high school junior's life was turned upside down. But she was determined to not fall into depression. 

"I could no longer attend school and my life became a balancing act between doctor's appointments and studying at home," wrote Shelby Makris in a special for the Los Angeles Times. "I had a choice to make: Delve into depression or grasp the opportunities I still had to make the most of them. I decided to go for it."

She completed every assignment that her classmates were given, she upped the capacity of her charity work (ironically, she was president of her school's Make-a-Wish Foundation club), and every day she is getting a little bit healthier.

"I have proved to myself that I am a much stronger person than I thought I was."

(READ her essay in the LA Times)