Campus Conversations

Weekend full of dedication and excitement

April 12, 2011

Hello there! So this past week was a little hectic with planning family events and especially Relay For Life. On Friday Occidental College held its annual Relay For Life event which is sponsored by The American Cancer Society. I took this quote off of the website so you can all know what this is about: “The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease.” Relay is a 24-hour event where teams of people spend 24 hours at a field, at the football field for us, and take turns walking around the track for the whole 24 hours. Not only is this event a great way to fundraise for the cancer society but is also a great experience to bond with friends! This year Relay was special to me, not only because it was the first time I was attending it, but because this past year I lost someone really close to me due to cancer. I felt that I wanted to dedicate myself to this event because of that person that fought cancer, so I decided to stay there over night. The weather was not too kind for us who were attending the event, but I was glad it did not rain. Though it got really, really cold - you know the type of cold that you cannot withstand even with three layers of clothes. But what made it exciting for me was spending time with my sorority sisters (if you recall I am part of the local sorority, Delta Omicron Tau). We had lots of fun telling stories, listening to music, and jumping in the bouncy house. But unfortunately my time at Relay was short because on Saturday I was going to celebrate my dad’s birthday. My dad is turning 48 today (4/11), so we wanted to celebrate together on Saturday. We also spoke to my uncle, my dad’s twin, who lives in Sweden to wish him an early birthday. So this weekend was full of dedication and excitement. Now there is only a few weeks left of school and then finals (yay…sarcastically, of course). I hope you guys are all having a good time and wish you all the best! Until next time! --Marilyn