Something I Can Do

Caroline really lightended things up a bit around here the other day and it was a nice change from the serious tone that this blog has had lately. Of course the reason it's been so serious is legitimate, but I miss writing about fun things, and the blog swap helped me remember that! I guess it just felt wrong writing about fun things when something so serious was going on. Anyway, I'm going to get back to more fun posts soon, but here is one more serious one for now.

Ever since we first found out my sister was sick, the same thought crossed my mind probably every day; "I wish there was something I could do." I wish that I could take away the time, take away the pain, take away the sickness, just take it all away. Of course I can't do any of those things, and having someone you love battle cancer can make you feel very powerless.

I despised that powerless feeling. I didn't want her cancer to have that effect on me. So, I did what I could, even if it was mostly little things. I wanted to do something, anything to make her feel better even though, deep down, I knew nothing I did would take away the Cancer. I still felt powerless despite doing what I cuoold to help.

Finally, I found something I could do. While it didn't directly affect her and it certainly didn't take away the cancer, it gave me that powerful, in control, feeling back. It opened my eyes to new possibilities of something I could do to help. So what is it? It's Relay For Life.

My sorority sisters and I decided to start a team in honor of Anna and her fight. We are named Anna's Alpha Chi Angels, and we have raised over $1000 in less than 3 weeks. I am the Team Captain, and I have personally raised $960 toward my personal goal of $1000. It is so empowering to be able to raise money for an organization that works to achieve what I want most; for cancer to be eliminated. I can't take my sisters cancer away as much as I would like to. However, I can support The American Cancer Society in their efforts to abolish cancer, to find a cure, and to make sure that no one else has to go through what my sister has and what so many other people have to. Finally, I can do something. Something to hopefully one day have a cancer free world.

(Side note:) I would really appreciate it if my bloggy friends would help me meet my goal of $1000.. you can donate here and visit the team page here. Thank you in advance.

Technically a woman, but you know, not really.

Today I'm turning my blog over to Caroline from Girl Goes East. We are partners in the 20 Something Bloggers Blog Swap, so we're swapping blogs for the day (duh that's what a blog swap means). Here's Caroline's autobiography:

Caroline (girlgoeseast.com) is a 22 year old college graduate who holds a degree in journalism and a full-time job in...not journalism. She currently lives in Manhattan where she frequently locks herself out of her building and sees that guy from Gossip Girl (she doesn't know which one). She started her blog so she wouldn't forget how to write, but now she just forgets how to work.

Hopefully you will enjoy her post and if you do make sure you go show her some love at her place (while you're there, you could show me some love on the post I wrote for her... *cough*cough* just sayin') Anyway, without further ado, here's Caroline's post: 

When I first saw my name next to Patrice’s, I clicked her link.

Oh F*#^.

 

This girl is serious. She has a layout. She has a BIO. With a picture. And a background. It looks like a digital scrapbook.

 

Wait. Patrice is still in college? I’m not in college anymore! It’s been a year, and the wealth of knowledge I’ve aquired in the last 11 months is so extensive that I could trump her layout any day. In fact…

Ok wait. This isn’t a competition. My therapist would say I’m probably just jealous she’s still in college and I’m not.

My therapist would be right.

Not a girl, not yet a woman, hm? Yeah, I feel you. I totally feel you. I realize that even though in the state of New York (and in the bank account of Mom and Dad), I am legally a woman (and not a girl), sometimes I feel like I’m still in the in between phase.

With Britney Spears and her awesome thought-provoking lyrics in mind, let’s go back to 1998 when Baby One More Time debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts (also, sometimes I make facts up).

Because I didn’t get a CD Burner til 8th grade, I was left to my own devices. And by my own devices, I mean an 18lb boom box and an alarm clock radio, where I would record mix tapes externally so the sound would always be fuzzy and LAY OFF ME WHAT ELSE COULD I DO?!

I would wait until the “top 9 at 9” would come on the radio so I could record the hit songs like “Baby One More Time” and “Lady Marmalade”. Then I would choreograph stage routines to said songs pretending the most popular girls in my grade were nothing more than my back up dancers.

I mean, what? Who said that?

I look back on that and I nearly die laughing, remembering listening to Britney in my bedroom as an 11 year old girl and really “feeling” the music. I think "Email My Heart" once reduced me to tears (I mean, that song still does, but before they weren't because of the pain from my BLEEDING EARS.) 

 

How embarrassing! Who does that?

FLASH FORWARD to my 22 year old current self.

Every single time I find myself in a car alone, you know what I do? I sing songs. You know what kind of songs? The one's on the Glee soundtrack. You know who I am when I sing the songs from Glee? The lead. Obviously. Even during the stereotypical male vocal songs, I AM THE STAR.

I watch my little cousins sweat Miley Cryus and kiss Nick Jonas and Justin Bieber posters before they go to sleep, and I thank God I'm not a dorky little girl anymore.

 

But where was I last night at exactly 9:25pm? On the edge of my couch, humming along to Lionel Richie's "Hello" with the cast of Glee and Googling pictures of Mark Salling while my roommate looked at me like I was the biggest freakshow on Earth. Where was I before that? Furiously voting for Andrew Garcia on American Idol.

 

I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE, PEOPLE!

 

We’re not girls. But we’re not women either. Most of the time we’re just awkward.
 

Let’s embrace it.