My story is different from most

because I had to undergo
a bone marrow transplant

when I was just six months old.

And now, I have pulmonary fibrosis,

which is a serious lung disease,

and my lung capacity is only 20%.

My name is Aisha Chaudhary,
and I'm 17 years old.

And today, I'd like to talk about
what really matters most to me in life.

Now, life can be tough

when every single breath
you take is a struggle

and the slightest infection

can cause a serious,
life-threatening exacerbation.

And the last one for me
was in November last year,

when I went from being able
to walk around freely and go to school

to suddenly being bedridden,

unable to turn over in bed
without getting out of breath.

And I must confess that I did wonder
if I was going to die.

And I would have sleepless nights,

just thinking, tossing, and turning

with this idea that soon I may be gone.

And if that's going to happen,
then what's the point of anything?

But then, it suddenly struck me
that I'm not really alone in all of this.

Is it not true that not just me
but all of us are going to die one day?

Yes, all of us are going to die.

I'd like you all to just
think about that for a moment.

In the next hundred years,

all of us sitting in this room today

will be gone,

just at different times -

some sooner than the others.

So then, if death is the ultimate truth,

what should really matter most in life?

I feel the only thing
that truly matters to me is being happy,

and happiness is a choice one makes.

It's simply an attitude.

I can either choose to be happy

and try to smile through
all of my difficult times,

or I can choose to be miserable
and get overwhelmed by it all.

Now it's not that by being miserable
I'm going to get any better.

So I may as well choose
to try and be happy.

And if I have to have pulmonary fibrosis,

I choose to have
a happy pulmonary fibrosis.

(Applause)

Now, I'd like to share with you
a few difficult moments in the recent past

where I've chosen to be happy.

This year, I was quite unwell,

and I had to undergo
several medical tests,

and one such test was a sleep study

done to check if my oxygen levels
were okay when I sleep.

And this picture was taken
just before the study.

And you can see that I'm almost trapped
in a bunch of wires,

some stuck to my face and some to my body,

to monitor my heart,
my brain and my breathing.

Despite all of this, I'm still smiling

because I refuse to let this illness
get the better of me.

I just won't let it.

And I chose to find humor in observing
the man who was doing my sleep study.

I couldn't help but laugh

at the way he would just put up
his own feet on my bed

and go off to sleep himself, snoring away.

And this, obviously,
made it difficult for me to sleep

and maybe that's why
my results were so bad.

(Laughter)

"How ridiculous," I thought to myself.

Later that month, my family and I
had to go to England

for a full medical check-up,

and the days were filled with long,
boring medical appointments,

talking about lung transplant

and what seemed
like endless amounts of tests.

This is a picture of my brother and I

just after I'd spent
one long day at the hospital.

But guess where we
were headed in this photo.

To see a Broadway show in London.

And it was fabulous.

I was able to put the trauma
of the day at the hospital behind me,

and I still managed
to find the will and the excitement

in going out for a play

and spending quality time with my brother.

I believe that it's important
to create many happy memories

so that we can try
to wipe out the sad ones.

After having quite an unpleasant summer
with all of these medical issues,

we decided to take
a family holiday to the Maldives,

and there was so much 
to do in the Maldives,

but of course my health didn't permit me

to do a lot of the things
that I wanted to.

And one of the main activities
was snorkeling.

And I desperately wanted to try it,

but how could a person who has
difficulty breathing go snorkeling?

Well, in this picture,
you can see me in my snorkeling gear

right after I had popped
my head out of the water

after seeing the most beautiful, 
vibrant colored fish.

Now, I'm not going to lie.

I did only dip my head in for a second,
but I did what I wanted to do.

And that moment for me 
was worth everything,

and I felt extreme happiness

and was even surprised at myself

for doing something that everyone
wasn't sure was really possible.

So happiness is clearly
a choice one can make.

No matter what, no matter where,
you can find it if you look for it.

In fact, Tom Wilson once said,

"A smile is happiness you can find
right under your nose."

I feel that happiness
is also doing what you truly love,

and for me, my love is for art

simply because it allows me
to express myself

in such a beautiful and unique way.

As I dip my brush 
in the vibrant colors of paint

and can almost feel the paint being
smeared on to the fabric of the canvas,

I tend to forget all of my worries

and the difficult situation
that I'm really in.

And art makes me happy

because it almost becomes
a whole other world

where I can escape,
at least for a little while.

And these days, my most favorite
subject to paint is dogs.

And now I'd like to introduce you 
to my own two dogs.

Coby the labrador
and Rolo the black pug.

You can see who the dominant one is
in the relationship.

I find it so interesting
that even though they can't speak a word,

dogs can become
the closest thing to your heart,

your very best friend,
and your companion.

I love to observe them
and try to figure them out.

And I can't help but get inspired.

Dogs are so similar to humans,

yet they carry qualities that we humans
struggle to achieve at times.

Dogs can find happiness
in the smallest of things.

Dogs are delighted with a walk,

ecstatic with a small treat

and in heaven when you tickle their belly.

Dogs truly mean the world to me.

And now I'd like to share with you
a few paintings that I've done recently,

which were inspired by these two guys.

The first one is of Coby,

and it's capturing a snapshot
of my everyday life.

Just lying on my bed, watching movies,
just as I love to do.

The next one

is inspired by my gorgeous pug, Rolo,

and the legendary rock band Guns N' Roses.

Now, all of this doesn't mean that life
is always one big song and dance.

It really isn't.

Of course, there are days
when I feel extremely down,

where I feel like simply curling up
into a ball and just giving up.

But the realization that things
could always be much, much worse

always pushes me to get back up on my feet
and put a smile on my face.

I could have easily been born

into a family that wasn't as loving
and caring as my own,

so I thank God for the family that I have.

And I know for a fact
that there are children out there

who are much less fortunate than I am.

And although I have this disease,

I'm still glad that I can walk around

and do what I love to do.

So happiness is an attitude.

Happiness is doing what you truly love,

and I feel that happiness
can only come from acceptance.

I accept who I am,
and I accept where I'm at,

and I accept the challenges
that I'm battling with today.

And I'm even more determined

to make the most
of this wonderful gift of life

that God has given me.

Hans Anderson once said,

"Enjoy life.

There's plenty of time to be dead."

So I hope that all of you
enjoy your lives

with as much happiness
as you can possibly find.

Thank you for listening.

(Applause)