Most of our Gurl Crushes tend to be “girl crushes” but we’ve got a total heart on for a boy this time. Some of you dedicated Tumblrers may have heard about this kid already. Shane Burcaw is a 20-year-old blogger with a crazy sense of humor, great writing style and a tinge of Internet fame.

At first glance his blog reads like a slightly funnier version of any regular dude (hello, penis jokes), but digging a little deeper reveals that Shane lives with a very serious disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Shane is adamant about letting his readers know that this disease will eventually kill him . . . by the time he is 30 years old.
 

Shane writes:

“I have a disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (Type 2) that has been slowly destroying all the muscles in my body for the last 18 years, 11 months, and 354 days. Eventually I will catch a cold, it will turn into pneumonia, and my body won’t be able to fight it off, at least that’s what all my doctors subliminally imply every time they tell me I’m lucky to have stayed out of the hospital for almost a year now. Look at that, you already know my deepest fear, the one that hits me like a train every single night when I’m trying to fall asleep; I don’t know how much longer I have to live. We’re practically dating.”

While it’s hard to believe his writing is more funny than not, it’s clear that Shane is pretty happy to be alive and pretty grateful for what he does have.

He writes: “To be honest, I’m not as upset about my circumstances as I maybe should be. Not that being sad all the time would be the best way for me to live my life either, but I’m genuinely happy 99.9% of the time, which gives me a slightly distorted view of reality that causes me to forget the fact that I am in a wheelchair and need to do mostly everything a little bit differently than everyone else.”

What’s amazing is that his blog is not CHEESY at all. It’s not dripping with positivity like some other blogs, where you’re wondering, can this person really be so happy all the time?

Shane is always honest, nothing is sugarcoated but nothing is overly pessimistic either. That’s why he’s so freaking relatable, even if most of us can’t relate at all. Reading about how he’s never had a girlfriend but wants one so bad, breaking his femur, and being afraid to die—they’re hard things to read about, but he’s really a great writer who brings these heavy, personal subjects strangely down to Earth. I know, who is this guy? He’s a college junior studying journalism (he better be with writing like this) who has not only started a nonprofit to raise money for muscular dystrophy, but who is using his own life to inspire and educate other people.

We seriously can’t wait to see what else comes of his career as a writer and all the other amazing things he’ll do in his lifetime.

Check out Shanes awesome blog here!

Who inspires you? Have you read Shane Burcaw’s blog? Let us know in the comments!

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Next check out 21 Things To Do Before You Turn 21

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