You'll never get a second cupcake if you don't ask for it

My 2 year old nephew, Benjamin, visited for about a week with my older brother for all the graduation hoopla. Here are some of the many lessons he taught me:

-Tell people how it is, and don't apologize. If you don't like the salmon, just say so. If your diaper is poopy, simply ask someone to change it for you.

-Swinging higher than you think you can is always exhilarating.

-Some people are better baseball partners than others.

-Shoes are not necessary when riding in a car.

-You'll never get a second cupcake if you don't ask for it.

-Games with sounds are better than games without sounds.

-Sliding down a staircase face first? Bad idea. Sliding down backwards? Endless fun.

-There's no good reason why we shouldn't play racecars in an international airport.

a cause we all can care about

For the second time, I am participating in a Relay for Life event this year. Even though these events have been taking place at my high school or college every year that I can remember, I was always reluctant to participate for two reasons: one, I always had a conflict during the event. but second and more important, I feel really strongly that these kinds of fundraisers and awareness events shouldn't just be another "let's go hang out with friends all night" gig. I feel like we get inundated with good causes to support all the time, and I didn't want to just go and not have the heart behind it.

Then two years ago, one of my friend's moms died of cancer right before the school year started. He's one of the first people I met at Whitworth, and I couldn't imagine the loss he was experiencing. That year was my first experience with Relay, and our team was in honor of his mother. And then about a month ago, another of my friends lost his mother to cancer. Our team this year is in honor of both of these brave and loved women. Even though I never met either of them, I've seen the products of their lifetimes of work as women and mothers in the values and integrity of their sons.

Cancer has also knocked at the door of my family. My aunt died of breast cancer when I was in second grade, after fighting the disease for more than 10 years. My cousin (her daughter) has had a double mastectomy, and last fall had to again undergo treatment for a return case. My would-be uncle died at the age of 14 from leukemia.

I feel like for my generation, cancer is something that's just considered part of life. We here so and so is in chemo, or in surgery, or some form of treatment. I've had teachers go on leave for a school year, known friends who've lost parents or uncles or cousins or siblings. But it's a disease we can fight, a disease we can work to cure. So this year, I will walk around a gym for 8 hours, in hopes of contributing even a little to this fight. My fundraising goal is $50.

For more information about my team, or to donate, click here