It's been two days, and the effects of the overnight endeavor are still within me. They include sleepiness. I feel lethargic, but what I'm feeling right now is nothing to compare to Sunday, two days after. Relay for Life is an annual event that spans over two days from 6 pm the first day to 6 am the next day. At least one person from your team is supposed to be walking at all times, but usually that doesn't happen like it did with my group. See, at around midnight, people didn't want to get up and walk anymore because they were too comfortable on their nice lawn chairs. Here's my philosophy, if people can battle for years with cancer and go through absolute hell then we can easily keep one person walking the track all night. It's just a complete lack of effort and consideration which caused this discrepancy. Now, my views of the event were much stronger than most of my teammates so I would willingly get up and walk. I always had a friend from another team that would walk with me, so I never hesitated to ditch my lame group to walk around the track. Plus, I had more energy than my whole group! It must be because I exercise, but I doubt that's why. Some people even slept, which is completely wrong in my book because that makes the night just like any other.
It was a fun event, but my group disappointed me. They were a fun group to be with, but they didn't seem to understand what Relay for Life was. A lot of them just saw it as a social gathering when it is, in fact, a community service endeavor! You don't give to your community by sleeping or just sitting in a circle. You give to the community by putting the effort forth to show that you care about other people, and that involved being consciously responsible for someone walking at all times. The ceremonies were very inspirational and well done, and I truly enjoyed having the survivors and care givers honored in the way they were. It was very impressive, but otherwise I enjoyed the peace and quiet associated with walking.
The most amazing thing I saw at Relay for Life was Kathy, Mrs. Staines' sister with Cerebral Palsy. Mrs. Staines is my neighbor who cuts my family's hair, and their family is very into Relay for Life, especially Kathy. Her goal was to get 101 laps, one more than last year's 100. When I saw her going around the track, she was always being pushed by someone until I saw her one time pushing herself. Now, her limbs are bent up and are very small and she can barely talk, but she was still pushing herself backwards around the track in her wheel chair. That defined perseverance to me, so I decided to push her for a lap to help her reach her 100. All of my friends were amazed at how kind I was! It's strange how they wouldn't do the same, but I don't do things like that for other people that often. It was this moment at this place that I decided to help someone. After I pushed her for a lap, I gave her to one of her teammates who ran her around a few times, but almost all of her team left her. This surprised me because I would think that a completely healthy person should last longer than her, but apparently not. Most of the time I saw her, I saw her pushing herself until the last two hours where people were running with her around and around the track, ensuring that she reaches 101 laps. That was amazing to me that she made it, and it's also amazing to know that I helped make one of those laps possible.
I've never been hit with cancer in my family, and I'm very thankful, but I feel ignorant to not know how if feels to experience such a battle. I look at these people and feel sad for their losses, but I truly don't know how they feel. Sometimes I wonder if they wish for other people to feel their pain, but I know that idea is absurd. I hope that I never have to experience cancer firsthand, and I hope that the small amount of money I raised helps someone in the future overcome their battle triumphantly! We can find a cure, we have hope!
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