I was thinking about the new year and all the possibilities of opportunity. I reflected on my hopes for publishing my book (this year), and my desire to maintain good health and strength in order to fulfill new dreams.

All this reflecting left me with a sense of gratitude to just be alive to see this day.

To live with sickle cell disease is no easy task. Despite pain (daily), mood swings, and general life issues like rent, food and health care, living with sickle cell disease is hard.

Just getting up with a positive attitude is sometimes difficult. Hoping for any kind of future is sometimes senseless, and dreaming about achieving any goal can be futile. But people "living" with sickle cell disease MUST push on.

Some days are worse than others. The relief of pain medication doesn't soothe sorrow that comes from a life of suffering. Getting tired of being tired drains any hope we fight to hold on to.

But we must live on.

Living with sickle cell disease is our cross to bear, everybody has one. We choose to lift this cross fighting everyday with strength, positive thinking and perserverance or we don't. We give in or we give up this fight, it's our choice.

My personal choice is fight and win. Keep dreaming, keep believing, and keep getting up. Acknowledge the pain, get a remedy and move on. Cry if I want to cry, then wipe my tears and start over again. Pray about everything and believe there is a God who cares. Smile at the world and lend a hand to someone else hurting.

That's my answer to living with sickle cell disease. What's yours?