I Love You, From Mollie

 Dear mom, H A P P Y M O T H E R 'S D A Y ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !  I hope you have a lovely day and treat yourself! Go on a gorgeous hike, treat yourself to an ice cold brew, you know how it is– classic. I love you! From, Mollie

Today I attended a zoom call with 150 other cancer survivors and patients in remission to celebrate our scholarship (!!!!) through LLS. LLS stands for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and it has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I remember attending event and fundraisers as a little kid, most notably: Light the Night Walk. Light the Night Walk is an event that takes place all across the United States where families and children, doctors, friends and supporters gather together to walk to end cancer. It's a celebration! There's music and matching t-shirts and little red lanterns that bobble in people's hands and light up the night.  As a matter of fact, I attended my first Light the Night walk in San Diego during the first quarter of the school year. Shyly, not having many friends on campus yet, I asked my neighbor Clark if he wanted to take the trolley to the city and go with me. He didn't know what it was, what it meant to me, or my experience with...

 Hi Mom, I got my blood drawn for work today! It didn't go as smoothly as I hoped for...  The nurse couldn't find my veins so she tried my left arm,                                                   no blood. I was extremely nervous and asked her to take it out so she moved me to another room, gave me a moment, and tried my right. I painstakingly sat there for what felt like forever but FINALLY some blood came out.  What was the trick?                                                 Apple juice.  She gave me some apple juice to chug after moving me to the second room and I guess it did the trick!  An apple a day really does keep the doctor away. 🍎🍏🍎🍏 I'm glad the...

Mom, I used to get SO ANGRY when we would go to the beach or go camping or on a hike, and you would say,                "Mollie, wear a hat!"                           "Mollie, cover your head!"             Why do I have to cover my head , I would think, as Lucy and Liam ran about, with their twinning bright blonde heads sticking out like a sore thumb, swaying in the wind, and reflecting the light of the sun. Why me!!! It's not my fault that I got cancer and they didn't. Well, you'll be happy to know though reluctant as I was, I still wear hats even when you're not around to see me.  You were right. I'll never live a completely carefree life. Even when I come down with a common cold or what we call the "frat flu" at school, I'm used to my nurses and doctors jumping to conclusions about the state of my health because of...

 Hey Mom- Dang! I have a lot of respect for you for writing these! I have no idea how to format these blogposts. And like, can you follow other bloggers? Or tag organizations?  So simple, yet so confusing. I also have to actually  get out my computer to post?!?! That's so formal!  I laugh a little bit to myself as I imagine you typing away on one of those really chunky old computers- like an Apple Macintosh from the 1980s- with super pixel-ey screens and fat off-white keyboards. I know you're not that  old, but it's still funny. Whether its ancient typewriters and VHS players or flatscreen TVs and iPhone 15s, I love you! From, Mollie 

Dear Mom, No, 4 isn't too young for a camera! Stick with your intuition– I can tell you with certainty that cameras and I were meant to be friends. I actually shot and edited some beautiful photos of Gliderport in the fog today! I've been finding the weather down here in supposedly-sunny San Diego to be very gloomy recently and wanted a way to cheer myself up so I took my bike and my camera down to the ocean cliffs to take pictures of the beautiful yellow flowers and document the superbloom in California!  I also tried bringing some back to lighten up our apartment with a bouquet but...  sunflowers... ... don't smell as good as they look like they should. 😬 😬 😬 My Nikon D90 is treating me very well, and I'm slowly starting to get through the Nikon D90 For Dummies book you gave me, though the only thing I confidently know how to change now is the ISO.  Auntie K also gave me her hella old film camera over spring break and I am super excited to shoot with it! She also g...

                                                    Hey Mom,      It's Mollie. I'm finally writing back! 🎉🎉   Searching for scholarships and trying to raise money for college funds has caused me to deep dive into   my experience with chemotherapy as a kid.      In 2008, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a blood cancer that affects my white   blood cells. I went through intense periods of chemotherapy and port insertion (central venous catheter)      through 2010.       Even though I don't know what half of those words mean, I'm trying to understand.       I'm trying to understand my history, how it affects my health, how I see the world, and how it altered   the way my parents, siblings and friends see the ...