As I sit here and write this blog post, I cannot help but feel extremely thankful. For the first time in almost two years I am finally away on vacation. I know. I know. Most of you grade A college students would not miss a few classes for the chance to take a breather and just relax. In the Fall of 2011 I passed on my annual family vacation to Disney world. I was knee deep in Honors research, paper writing, and all of the other obligations that a full time English major has. I had doctor’s appointments to keep up with. The holidays were around the corner and I had shopping to do. I didn’t know that just a few months later my whole life would change and the taken-for-granted Disney vacation would seem like an unattainable dream. Well, I am now at the place that preaches, sings, and oozes the mantra “Dreams come true” and my being here is proof that they actually do. A mere three (nearly four) months have passed since my final round of chemo and here I am. I am surrounded by hordes of people from all over the world that are covered in unknown germs and bacteria that I no longer need to fear. I am walking around and standing in lines that move at a snail’s pace and not getting tired. I’m touching metal bars that thousands of other people touch on a daily basis and I do not need to worry. Three months ago I was in a hospital bed tied to an IV pole and essentially confined to my room. My visitors were equipped with gallons of hand sanitizer, masks, and rubber gloves when they entered my room. For the moment, there is nothing to fear. My schoolwork is up to date. Hurricane Sandy caused this week’s classes to be cancelled and I have no work to do at the moment. This vacation reminded me how important it is to just breathe. Relax. Take it all in and appreciate every aggravating family vacation you get. Enjoy the screaming spoiled children donning Mickey Mouse ears because somewhere, someone is dreaming about these headaches. I am now stuck in Florida without a definite flight home because “Sandy” flooded all New York airports. Two years ago I would have been itching to get home. Two years ago I would have been making myself sick with worry of what my Professors would say or do to me for missing multiple classes. Right now, there is no stress. This is a much welcomed and needed break from reality. Please remember to take time out of life—work, school, doctor appointments, reality and be kind to yourself. Make memories on and off campus. Enjoy life every change you get even (maybe especially) at its most stressful moments. Something beautiful is bound to come out of it.

On a side note, something else magical happened here on my Disney vacation. I had another “Everything Happens for a Reason” moment. My friend Alex (who is amazing) told me a while ago that she had a friend that had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) during her sophomore year of high school. She suggested the two of us link up at some point. Initially I completely blew off the suggestion. I was worried that I would be a bother to her and possibly bring back memories she would have rather forgotten. As I grew closer to Alex, she proposed the idea yet again. This time I was more receptive to the offer but found out she had recently moved to Florida. Well, this vacation was my chance to meet her. Thank Mark Zuckerberg for Facebook. We exchanged numbers and decided to meet up in Hollywood Studios. As I walked to meet her I was part nerves, part excitement. I was finally going to be able to talk to a real life person that went through something so similar to what I went through. I thought: “ She read my blog, does she love it or want to punch me for it? I feel like I know her already. Can I hug her when I meet her or will that be too much? Crap I wish Alex was here to make any awkwardness less awkward.” And then I stood in front of her and she hugged me. With that hug, I felt like she was reading my mind. Our life experience brought us together without ever having met. Our time together was too short but the hour or so that we spent together showed me that there is someone out there similar to me.  Young, carefree, happy, beautiful, and filled with life. We learned we share many of the same thoughts about what we experience as a young adults with cancer. We both know a pain and suffering that we hope no one else will ever have to feel. We are both strong. We appreciate life a little differently since we danced on the line of our mortality. We literally and metaphorically have the same scars. We are both so open and ready to live. She is in remission for three and a half years now and when she crosses that line to the golden “five year mark” I hope I can be there to cheer her on. Thank you Suzy for inspiring me.