My journey began almost seven years ago when, at the age of sixteen, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I didn’t know what it meant to have cancer or to be on chemo but I knew everything was about to change. In the four months that followed, I discovered that with the support of my friends and family I can survive anything, that music can heal my spirit, and that without a shadow of doubt my journey is far from over. Now, I live for those challenges and those experiences that send my world dissolving into the background and change my life forever.
After graduating from high school, I attended college at Boston University where I received a B.A. in Art History. As a member of the ONE Campaign at BU and the BU Darfur Coalition, I organized benefit concerts and awareness events on campus because I believe music can mobilize people to enact change. With my graduation this past May, I find myself on the next part of my journey. I want to use my experience with cancer, and the strong sense of purpose it has given me, to help any way that I can. I am currently applying for a program with Americorps starting in October to commit to 10 months of service, working in disaster relief, community development and energy conservation in Sacramento, California or Denver, Colorado. Come October, I hope to find myself somewhere in the country putting my idealism into action.
I am a cancer survivor, a California girl (but an honorary Bostononian, too) an aspiring world traveler, a soul full of music, a floral designer, a substitute teacher, a jock, a free spirit, a sister, a daughter, a best friend and a stubborn girl determined to change the world. Being a cancer survivor does not define who I am, but rather it inspires what I do. In August 2010, I will be seven years cancer free and I look forward to celebrating that accomplishment by climbing Mt. Fuji.
