I had the amazing opportunity of going to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital over winter break, and this is a summary of my amazing trip.

December 19

12:00 – boarded first flight nicely provided by Delta airlines. My air travel was completely paid for by the amazing staff of Delta!

5:25 – get off of the first flight and run to next flight. I make it within five minutes of the doors shutting, but we did not get off the ground until 6:45.

9:00 – Mary Kate, an ASLAC representative, picks me up from the airport and takes me to my hotel.

10:00 – preparation for the hospital: making sure I have my parking pass, putting toys in a bag, and organizing checks that people have mailed me to donate.

December 20

9:40 – check in with Mary Kate and spend time with her going to the hospital as we go to meet a patient, Madison, who I met through twitter.

9:45 – get coffee with Madison and I am absolutely in awe of what she has to say. She talks about her experience at St. Jude, the different friends that she made through the process, the different types of treatment plans that she could be on, and how her perspective on life has been changed for the better. Quite an amazing story, and she's now my new friend!

10:15 – media tour. With this, there were two TV stations that had cameras and one news reporter who were interviewing Madison and me to hear about our stories.

10:30 – check presentation. This was one of the most surreal moments for me. I wrote on this huge check the letters spelling out “one hundred and ninety thousand and 0/100.” This isn’t something that happens every day. I stand with girls from Delta State University, and some executive team members.

11:00 – tour of the hospital. Some of the girls from Delta State, Madison, Mary Kate, and I go on a tour. They show me all the different sections of the hospital. Madison’s story plays along with the different parts of the hospital.

12:00 – Madison and I head over to the ALSAC offices and get to meet the executive office members! What an incredible experience!

12:20 – Meeting with Callie, whose sister came through St. Jude and stayed in Tri Delta Place. We go on a tour of Tri Delta Place and see what Tri Delta has produced through the years.

12:45 – lunch in the Kay Kafe, a central location where all patients and staff members get to eat and dine with many different types of food and beverages.

1:25 – After a nice lunch, we head over to the ALSAC headquarters and review the day.

3:30 – Madison and I go to the PR team’s holiday get together at Bass Pro’s and see a wonderful city view.

6:00 – Back at the hotel, and in for the night. After a long day, I am ready to relax a little, and see what is in store for tomorrow!

December 21

10:00 – breakfast at the hotel.

11:30 – skype interview for an update on everything that happened yesterday.

12:30 – lunch with Madison, final goodbyes :(

2:00 – checking out of my hotel and heading to the airport.

If you asked me a year ago where I would be today, it would be nothing like this. This journey has just begun, and I cannot wait to see how I can be involved with St. Jude in the future, as well as how we can make a difference in this world, as a community!

Seeing everything at St. Jude and meeting Madison and the Executive Team members has been so surreal, and it fully reassured me that St. Jude is where my heart is for the rest of my life, for I have fallen in love with the amazing services that they provide and the lives that they change.

The GoFundMe is still up and live, so if you are interested in donating to St. Jude you can donate to the page I have set up, or directly to St. Jude!