My
name is Katelyn Michael Christensen. I was born on the 24th day of
September, 1988 to Michael and Lisa Christensen. I only weighed four pounds at
birth. I could fit in the palm of my father's hand and had to wear special tiny clothes made by my aunt Irma because I was so small. However, I
have always been a fighter. My parents
and the doctors were worried about how someone so
small could flourish in this big world, but I was determined to do everything
my brothers and friends did.
I
grew up in a small agricultural community in heart of the state of Washington
called Royal City. I love the Pacific Northwest and I especially loved being a
small town farm girl. I was always outside climbing trees and running around
barefoot. I also had a slight obsession with princesses and costumes and was
rarely found in normal, everyday clothing. It is sometimes difficult when
looking at pictures of me as a little girl to determine if it was Halloween or
just a normal day in the life of Princess Kate.
My dad also grew
up in Washington and several of his siblings stayed close to home as well, so
besides my own siblings, Riley, Jace, and Lindsey, I was blessed to have many cousins and my
grandparents living in the same town. My mother grew up in Salt Lake City,
Utah. Some of my other happiest childhood memories involve visiting my maternal
grandparents for Spring Break and Christmas. If you are reading this because
you are my child you should know that you come from a very wonderful family. We
are not perfect, but we love each other and we love the Lord.
As
a little girl I loved school. I loved to read and I loved to learn. I was a
good student and one of the blessings that I most enjoyed about living in a
small town was the ability to participate in my High School in any way that I
wanted to. I was not a brilliant athlete like my brothers and sister were, but
I did participate in Softball, Tennis, Soccer, Drill Team, and Cheerleading. I
was also Class president for three out of the four years I spent in High
School, Royal City’s Jr. Miss 2006, a state finalist in the Public Speaking
event for Future Business Leaders of America, and an elected city mayor at
Evergreen Girls State. As previously mentioned, I enjoyed being involved and it
became harder at BYU.
When
I was nine years old I diagnosed with a chromatic abnormality called Turner
Syndrome. I remember very distinctly being measured by the school nurse and
having her tell me that I grew half an inch in the past year. I didn’t know how
much that was. I thought it was a lot. She sounded positive. I happily told my parents, “Hey! Guess what?
I grew half an inch this past year…” They were very concerned. That is when we
took our first trip to Children’s hospital in Seattle and met Doctor Gunther.
He diagnosed me with Turner Syndrome.
After
my diagnoses my life changed in two was. First, I frequently visited Children’s
Hospital and I was able to associate with many children who were very sick and
dying. I learned that each of us are very blessed and should be thankful for
everything we have. I also started
taking daily Growth Hormone injections. This was difficult at first, but I was
able to learn that we can all do hard things. Today as an adult woman I only stand 4 foot 10 inches tall, but I love every inch of my
almost five foot frame.
After
high school I attended Brigham Young University. I loved my time at the Y. I
met some of my closest and dearest friends there and I learned some of life’s
most valuable lessons during my time as a college student. I enjoyed living in
Utah and getting to know my mother’s family better.
I
was able to spend a semester abroad in Israel at the BYU Jerusalem Center for
Near Eastern Studies. It was a wonderful time in my life. I love the Holy Land
and I hope to go back someday. My respect for other people and different
cultures grew and my testimony of Jesus Christ as our living Lord and Savior
was strengthened. A desire to serve a
mission was planted during my time in Jerusalem. I especially loved Galilee and
how beautiful and peaceful it was. I really felt the spirit there and I can see
why the savior spent so much time on the coast.
After
returning from Jerusalem I began my studies in the field of Communication
Disorders. I originally was thinking about becoming an elementary education
teacher. However, I have two aunts who are Speech Language Pathologist and they
convinced me to peruse a Master’s Degree in Speech Pathology. It has been a
very good decision and I love my major. There are not many career opportunities
out there where you have the ability to help people and receive good pay for
it. It is a very rewarding career and I enjoy learning about how to restore the
human necessity of communication to those who have lost it. When you restore a
person’s ability to communicate you restore broken relationships and it a joy
to see the tiny every day progress that people make.
While
working as an Especially for Youth counselor
on BYU Campus the summer after returning home from Israel I was called
to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in
the Texas Houston Mission. I was called to preach the gospel in the Spanish
Language. The experience was the most difficult thing that I have done up until
this point in my life, but I would not trade any of the experiences that I had
or the lessons that I learned for anything. I love the people of Texas
and I grew as a person in ways that I could never imagine. I now teach Spanish
at the Missionary Training Center.
My
life has not always been easy, but I have tried to work hard and be happy and
follow the Savior. One thing that I learned on my mission is that faith plus
obedience equals miracles. I know that as you do your best, the Lord will
always be there to lift you and sustain you. Here’s to another 23 years – and
hopefully a lot more than that.
CHEERS
