As many of you know, or have seen from the obnoxious bombardment of posts on Facebook, I am involved in Relay For Life at Florida State University. For those that don't know what Relay For Life is, let me explain. RFL is a fundraising event of the American Cancer Society. We fundraise from about October all the way up to our event, which usually takes place in April. Organizations on campus sign up as teams, and create team fundraisers as well as individual fundraising throughout the year. It concludes with our 18-hour event in which teams come and set up campsites based on the theme of that year, and continue to collect donations throughout the night. During the event, participants take part in various activities to symbolize the battle of a cancer patient: walking around the track to signify that cancer never sleeps, luminaria ceremony, survivor & caregiver lap, and so much more. There are also other activities such as Miss Relay, our drag show competition & Lip Sync Battle, and A TON OF FOOD (my favorite obvi). This year, RFL will take place on Friday, April 21 and our goal is to raise $365, 000, for 365 days without cancer!!

Now, how did I get involved with Relay? Well if you know me, you know how much I love music and want to work in the industry, so last year when my sister told me that RFL was looking for an entertainment assistant, I applied immediately. Unfortunately, I didn't get that position, but about a week later I got an email about being a Team Ambassador instead. Now I had heard of RFL but I had never participated in it and knew literally nothing about it. Only after several meetings did I realize that it was not, in fact, a 5k race. As a Team Ambassador, I was assigned several teams and was in charge of keeping them updated on all things Relay throughout the year. Now, don't get me wrong it wasn't the most exciting position, but it led me to my Relay family. The night of, TA's helped out wherever Exec needed us but for the majority of the night we were allowed to take it all in and I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences of my life. I may not have known that many people, but after participating in all the activities of the night and seeing the event that we'd been working towards all year finally come together, I knew I wanted to do it for as long as I could and be even more involved. So when applications for council came out, I knew I wanted to apply! And that is how I got my current position as Social Media Assistant. With this position, I help my Exec member create content for our various networks, come up with social media campaigns, and handle the snapchat (which you should all follow @relayfsu). Being on council has already been such an amazing experience, and I've made so many new friends that I love with all my heart! One of the best things about college is finding things you're passionate about, and through Relay I discovered my passion for ending cancer, which brings me to why I Relay.

I Relay for a lot of different reasons. Last year I Relayed specifically for my mom, who is a breast cancer survivor. I also Relay so that no kid has to lose a parent, and no parent has to lose a child. I Relay for those who can't, and because no one should ever have to hear the words, "... has cancer". This year, however, there are two people that I've dedicated my Relaying to. About 7 months ago we found out that my older sister Kelly and her husband, Joe, were expecting their first child. The baby is due in January, and everyone is so excited!! (Yes we bought FSU onesies for him, and yes he will grow up an FSU fan) What is supposed to be one of the happiest times of their life got interrupted a couple months ago. I walked downstairs one day to my mom talking on the phone with my older sister. My dad didn't have a good look on his face, so I asked him what was going on, and he said something was wrong with Joe. I didn't think it was going to be anything serious, but unfortunately, I was wrong. When my mom got off the phone, I found out that my brother - in - law had cancer. Stage 4 esophagus cancer to be exact. He went into the doctor after suffering stomach pains only to hear those three awful words, "You have cancer." My heart was and is still completely broken. All I could think was why, of all people why them? Why is life so unfair? Why do bad things happen to such good people? Well, unfortunately, I still don't have an answer to that question, the only thing I can do is hope and pray for them every single night and do what I can so that no one else has to experience something like this. That is why this year I Relay for Joe and Kelly.

Believe me, I know that my Facebook and Twitter posts are annoying. I know that there are many other causes that are just as worthy and important; that deserve just as much, maybe even more attention than Relay. I know that a good majority of people don't have extra money to give out. But I also know that cancer has touched almost every single person in some way. That it has hurt far more people than it ever should. And I know, that I have never been more passionate about a cause in my life. I want to end cancer, and I will spend as long as I have to, fighting that fight.