William Cook

A 22-year-old's journey from achievement addiction to actual fulfilment

That's 2025. ✨ Started the year on exchange in the UK, ended it recovering from cancer treatment. In between: earned 4 professional certifications (Microsoft AI, SAP, Cultural Intelligence, Global Citizenship), joined youth advocacy councils, and kept showing up. Some highlights that didn't make traditional resumes but defined my year: → Representing young people on the eSafety Youth Council → Contributing to Amnesty International's work → Supporting incoming students through orientation...

I was 21 when a routine colonoscopy revealed rectal cancer. Aggressive, advanced, the kind that completely derails the future you'd been planning. The fear was constant at first. Not just fear of treatment or outcomes, but fear about everything that came after. Would I get to have a normal life? A career? A family? Every plan I'd made suddenly felt uncertain. I'd lie awake wondering what my future actually looked like now, if I even had one to plan for. What surprised me was how cancer...