Relay 4 Life

So I don't know how many of you have actually participated in a Relay for Life event, but I HIGHLY recommend it!! It's a fantastic experience whether you simply donate money to the cause or you donate your time and walk for the cause. I have always wanted to participate in a Relay, but never really had the opportunity to do so...friends always said they would months in advanced, but when it'd come down to it they'd back out at the last minute. So sad really, someone with cancer can't just say "nah, I don't want it anymore", but someone can? I'm just glad I finally got the chance to be on a team and walk for the cause.

Some of you know my sister's blog, My Show, well she joined me in the cause. I don't think I mentioned this before, but she attended the same university as me and I joined the dance team the year after she left. So she came up for the night to join some dance team members in walking around the track. We began around 9pm and gathered in our fitness center on campus, with sleeping bags in tow, and spirit to walk. We designed two bags to people we knew who have had cancer and still fighting it day to day. As we began walking around the track other groups that were there sold items; such as food, drinks, and fun games to play. We donated money to carry around a kind of key chain/string and add colored beads as you completed laps and miles. We both started our strings with beads designated to people who have fought cancer and added to our string every two laps (it was easier for us to keep track this way).We made it to 10pm, 11pm, rested a bit, then at 12am they  laid out the bags with individuals names on it for the luminaria ceremony and all the lights were turned off for an hour as everyone walked around the track. Honestly the whole thing is emotional, and to think that I don't know anyone who has died from cancer is amazing to me and also that three people I have known who have had or who are fighting cancer are still strong and alive.

Our Team!! Dancing Divas

We designed bags for our close family friend Julie who is still fighting breast cancer and our Grandfather who is fighting Lung cancer. Later in the evening we realized we should have made a bag for a neighborhood friend who survived Leukemia as a child.

Our Team Captain made this for us so we and others knew if we were walking on the track or taking a rest :). It was fun reminding each other to "up date our status"...yea we were a little facebook deprived haha

We got SOOOooooo tired at 4:30 and had to lay down for a rest.

In all we ended up walking 11miles (although we were shooting for 16, still) in just about 8 hours (taking an hour "break" for Zumba) and we passed out around 5-5:30 and then were able to go home....it was a LONG night! We went back to my apartment and (I) slept from 6am-1pm haha soo tiring. Then sadly it was time for my sister to leave and me to work on homework. Back to work, but it was a great night and I would gladly do it again!