Judy Goldberg is the “newish” (she started this summer) editor of Choices magazine, the health and well-being publication for teens. This is her first post for OOM, but she hopes to make regular appearances to share amazing stories like the one she’s posting about today. 

A few months ago, we stumbled across Karli Leonard, aka Karli1998, on Instagram. Nothing notable about a teenager posting photos on a social network, right? Many of the images she uploaded were similar to those you could find on any average 14-year-old’s page—excited friends at school, cool nail polish, and inspirational quotes. But interspersed between these bright and happy images were shockingly honest photos of Karli without hair post-chemo, or of the deep scar that runs along her leg after her tumor was removed. It soon became clear that Karli is more than just an average teenager – she is a cancer survivor.

When Karli was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (a type of bone cancer) at the age of 12, she didn’t let her illness stop her from living her life. Instead, Karli used instagram as a way to document and share her road to recovery (including the 100+ days she spent in the hospital) with other teens across the world. Though Karli’s struggle may seem far removed from the lives of many teens, her honesty and kindness are an inspiration to all.

One of the central missions of Choices is to help schools create a culture of kindness and to inculcate their students with empathy. We want to give our readers the opportunity to emotionally connect with others, like Karli, who might appear to be worlds apart, but in reality are so similar. That’s why we chose to launch our “Different Like You” feature with this story. Read the article to find out what makes Karli just like any other teen, what makes her extraordinary, and what she wants you to know about her and other cancer survivors. Go Karli!