I'd like to take a few minutes to tell you about my very best friend Anna who passed away on 22 January 2016 aged 16 years and the 'bet' I made with her almost 3 years ago.

Back in the summer of 2013 when we were 13 years old and I was 'in love' with Harry Styles I made a bet with Anna that by the time I was 16 years old I would have been on a date with him & kissed him (yes, I know - as if !!) and the penalty for not fulfilling this would be for me to pay Anna £10,000, I suspect by now you're rolling your eyes and so you should, it’s a little embarrassing to admit, However, my secret weapon was the fact that I had tickets to see 'One Direction' in concert, so this would be easy right? Wrong, me and the thousands of other fans in the stadium also had the same idea. No matter how unlikely this seemed even to me at 13, I'm stubborn and I couldn't back down from the bet, so the deal was sealed and hands were shaken. Tragically Anna died 2 weeks before my 16th birthday (and 18 months after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour) and more importantly before she could claim her prize from me. In the days after she died I began to think about the bet we made and how I could fulfill it, after all I had lost the bet. Although I know Anna would never have held me to this I have decided that I would very much like to try & raise the £10,000. I have chosen to raise £5,000 for The Anna Wilkinson Mockingbird Trust (http://www.theannawilkinsonmockingbirdtrust.co.uk) a charity very close to my heart that enables children with life-limiting conditions to spend time with their family creating memories without having to worry about anything else. I am also raising £5,000 for Josie’s Dragonfly Trust (www.josiesdragonfly.org) a charity who helped to support Anna during the last months of her life.

Anna was kind, beautiful and incredibly bright, a doctor in the making and she never, ever complained or felt sorry for herself even during some truly gruelling treatment and even gained 10 A* GCSE's during her treatment and my world is a much sadder place without her. However, If by raising this money I could help support another teenager with a life-limiting cancer then that's what I'll do to keep on remembering Anna (not that I could ever forget because she is such a huge part of my life and I think of her every day) I will raise this money even If it takes me a lifetime to do so - it is after all what is rightfully hers.

Thank you for taking the time to read this- Gracie