Harnessing pain for purpose | William 'Wills' Levy | TEDxYouth@SeaburyHall

Wills Levy opens by introducing his brother Andrew, his former roommate and best friend, who was diagnosed with AMK leukemia when Wills was five years old. At just five years old, Wills volunteered to get his blood tested at the hospital to see if he could donate bone marrow to Andrew, describing himself as unusually eager rather than frightened by the needle. He turned out to be a match and agreed immediately to donate, though he had to wait three months while Andrew underwent chemotherapy before the procedure could take place.

The bone marrow donation was a success. Andrew left the hospital, went to preschool, and visited Disneyland. Wills describes feeling an intense sense of personal power — that the marrow from his own bones had literally cured his brother's cancer. This experience reinforced his belief that individuals have real agency in determining the outcomes of difficult situations.

However, about a year after Andrew's release, the cancer returned. Wills asked if he could donate bone marrow again, but doctors told the family there was nothing anyone could do. Andrew passed away at age three. Wills reflects on the jarring contrast between feeling all-powerful after the first donation and feeling completely powerless at Andrew's death. He explicitly rejects the idea that 'everything happens for a reason,' arguing there is no justification or reward that could make sense of a young child's death.

Instead, Wills argues that what matters is not why something happens, but how we react to it. He channeled his grief and frustration into maximizing every opportunity before him, beginning with soccer — playing every game with maximum intensity because, after witnessing how brief life could be, leaving any opportunity unexplored felt 'sacrilegious' to him. When teammates or parents questioned why he cared so much about a game, he explained it might be the last chance to take that opportunity.

As he matured, Wills found more direct ways to honor Andrew's legacy. He joined the junior board of CCTDI, a cancer research organization focused on rare pediatric cancers, helping raise funds through events like a Peloton exercise fundraiser in seventh grade. His interest deepened into the science itself, leading to lab work with the organization and eventually a summer internship at a San Francisco biotech company developing cancer drugs. He also partnered with Gift of Life, a bone marrow registry, recruiting community members in Maui to join and sharing his personal story to inspire others to register as potential donors.

In the final section, Wills grounds his personal journey in broader research, citing psychologist Adam Grant's finding that over 50% of people who experience trauma react positively and undergo post-traumatic growth. He connects this to Viktor Frankl's observations from Auschwitz — that survivors of the Holocaust were those who maintained a strong reason to live, a purpose — and quotes Frankl: 'If we can find some center of meaning to put in our lives, even the worst suffering becomes bearable.' Wills closes by expressing hope that his story demonstrates how anyone processing grief can find purpose and honor the legacies of those they have lost.