Ranch Reflections are articles written by LRHS students and staff who want to share their experiences, thoughts, and concerns. This is a great opportunity for Mustangs to branch out beyond traditional news stories. In this edition an LRHS junior discusses a valuable inspiration from social media.
Claire Freund- Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL)- TikTok is usually just makeup videos, outfit ideas, and endless scrolling that never really leads anywhere. It’s fun, but it doesn’t feel meaningful…unless, somehow it ends up giving you direction in your life. That’s what happened to me.
One day, I came across a little girl sharing her journey with leukemia. Her videos were honest and brave, and I found myself following every update.
Checking her account became part of my routine. I wanted to see how she was doing. She shared both the hard moments and the happy ones, and I was always rooting for her to keep going and get better.
But the part that stayed with me the most wasn’t just her strength. It was her relationship with her pediatric oncologist. Her doctor made her smile on the worst days, explained things in a way she could understand, and always made her feel safe. You could see how much she trusted her.
There was one video where the little girl held her hand before a surgery and said, “You make it less scary.” It was so simple, but it stuck with me. That connection, doctor and patient, was something I had never really seen up close before.
That’s when I realized something. A pediatric oncologist’s job isn’t just about medicine or treatments. It’s about people. It’s about creating comfort in moments that are anything but comfortable.
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I’ve always known I wanted to work with kids. Even when I was little, that was something I felt sure about. And I’ve always loved how medicine gives you the chance to help people in a real and meaningful way. But I never knew the exact direction I wanted to take.
Seeing their relationship made something click for me. It brought together everything I cared about. Kids, medicine, comfort, and human connection. It was the first time I was certain about the thought, “This is what I want to do.”
And in that moment, I finally felt like I had direction. I know I have a long way to go before I get anywhere close to choosing my career, but watching a parent share their child’s life on TikTok opened a path I didn’t even know existed.
A random scroll turned into the moment I discovered the future I want. And now, choosing pediatric oncology isn’t just an idea, it’s the path I’m ready to work toward.