LLS Scholarship Awardee!!

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 ALL, but he went anyways. 

Seeing all the families and sports teams marching together, bands playing music, and patients standing on stage sharing their stories of triumph even at really young ages reminded me of how impactful life with cancer is on the lives of everyone, not just the patient. I thought of the joy I felt when my friends and family marched for me during chemotherapy. Big pink t-shirts that said Marching for Mollie were printed in my name. It was the first time I ever got my art printed on a t-shirt!! 🤣🤣🤣

Nonprofits like LLS foster a community for patients, families, and survivors that is truly inspirational. It is world-changing.

You look around at the people you are marching with and you know that you share something in common right away. You have a shared experience that can't really be put into words, and that's okay. 

One speaker on the award call today said it best: no matter what age you are diagnosed, or if you're new to the survivorship journey, we all carry the burden of how this experience impacts the lives of others.

We're all connected. 

Funny thing, taking connection to a literal level, you won't BELIEVE who was on the zoom call today!!

The one and only... MINA!! 

I met Mina at Camp Okizu many years ago as a camper and we hit it off as friends right away. We have tried our best to stay in touch ever since, but it's hard considering we attend university in two different states and live in two different cities. I got SO excited when I saw her name pop up my zoom screen!

I didn't' know she applied to this scholarship, too! I didn't know she received it, too! Out of all 59 states and over 500 applicants, here we were. Survivorship scholars. I told her I would treat her to dinner in the Bay Area as soon as I'm home for the summer and we can catch up. She's actually going to be volunteering at a hospital for work! So cool. 

The word Okizu means to heal from hurt, to make whole. Seeing the success of other survivors and of my friends, like Mina. Experiencing how they find joy and how they conquer life– is how I heal. 

Though zoom calls aren't my go-to idea of fun, rekindling a little bit of that gratefulness I have as a survivor and getting to see Mina again made my day. I really appreciate both of my parent's excitement on the zoom call today, extending from NorCal to SoCal. 💛💛💛

Let's hold onto that feeling for as long as we can. 

Love ya!

From,

Mollie