Brothers, Sisters, Mothers, Fathers.

If their's anything that i've learned from this whole experience, it's that we have to help each other out. And that doesn't just apply to those of us affected by cancer! The impact that cancer has had on my life has been profound. Many will often think of it as an automatic death sentence when they, or someone they love, is diagnosed. But as you slowly accept your reality, accept the fact that you do, indeed, have cancer, life takes on a different perspective. It's almost like you've been walking around blindfolded your whole life, and then all of the sudden, someone rips that blindfold off! At first, you're blinded by the sheer intensity of light (incase my metaphors don't make any sense, i'm referring to the initial intensity of "the diagnosis"), but then your eyes get adjusted and you see a world full of colors and shapes that you never knew before. For me, cancer opened my eyes and truly made me see the world differently. Life, all of the sudden, seems so much more beautiful and intense. And from this new world, you draw from it strength and determination to beat the disease that would rob you of cutting such an experience (LIFE) short. This is, at least, what I felt. That being said, I am more motivated to being a better person. I've realized just how much a waste of time being negative really is. What's the point??? I want to help others and smile and laugh and just... live. If you have a chance to help someone out, to make them see a brighter world, how can you not help them out? I'm inspired to make something out of myself, to truly make a difference, as cliche as that sounds. At the end of the road, I want to know that I made a difference somewhere, somehow. Being negative, teasing, whatever may be slightly amusing for a little bit, but... when you go through an experience such as this, all that stuff just seems like such an incredible waste of time. A waste of life. Who wants to live a life berating others? I'm not saying that you should go to bed and wake up the next morning as Mother Teresa, but... baby steps. Many small goals are easier to achieve than one large one. Cancer isn't something that we can beat alone. It's a vicious force of devastation that does not discriminate. We MUST work together, help each other out, in order to beat this pain.in.the.ASS down! A great example of this is the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), which has created a consortium of resources into a centralized system that works together in order to move forward in finding new treatments and, ultimately, discovering a cure.

Recently, citizens of Haiti were devastated by a disaster that would lead an already unstable country to destruction. We need to help each other out. These people, they have brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers that really need our help. Being individuals affected by a different type of devastation, i'm sure that you are familiar with that sense of helplessness and vulnerability, of fear and despair. Of losing a loved one. We, as human beings, have a responsibility to help out our global brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers. So, I encourage anyone that reads this message to help in some sort of way. Do what you can, just do something. Raise awareness, raise donations, help. If you're not sure how, you can text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to RedCross relief efforts in Haiti. Every little bit counts.