Two years ago I had the opportunity to participate in Relay for Life, and it was one of the greatest things I have ever done. So this year, I am encouraging all of you to participate in this amazing event. I know you have heard about Relay For Life already, but hopefully I can convince everyone to go!

Two years ago, I had a group of ten people and went to sign up and three people backed out because they had “better things to do”.
Point one: There is nothing better anyone can do than help another person. Consciously making a difference in a persons life is an experience that changes you! After these three people backed out, another three people backed out because “they didn’t know anyone with cancer”.
Point two: It doesn’t matter if you know someone with cancer at all. When I entered relay for life, no one in my family had cancer, I didn’t even know anyone with cancer, I didn’t know anyone who knew anyone with cancer. Cancer doesn’t have to affect you personally. The important thing is to realize that it does affect so many people all over the world. It’s important to do something about it.
So, my team of ten slowly dwindled down to four participants.
Point three: you don’t NEED a team of ten to participate. Two years ago my team consisted of four people, and that was fine! If you want to participate, you can!

Now to the actual event… (of course this is what happened two years ago, and it might change!)
The relay started with the survivors lap, which was emotional for everyone involved. Watching the survivors walk around the ‘track’ (bus turn-around) encourages you to join the fight against cancer. If they can fight it ‘face-to-face’, we can sure help them!
Another emotional part of the relay is the… bag ceremony. I don’t know what it’s called but it was a very powerful moment. Everyone has a luminary bag and writes who they are relaying for on the bag. Even if you aren’t relaying for a specific person… you can write ‘keep fighting’ or something like that. Then the glow sticks or candles are put in the bags and they are placed around the track. I cried, a lot. It was very emotional.
To keep people entertained there are bands who perform throughout the night. It also helps to keep people awake. Hard to fall asleep with music blaring!
Another exciting event that happened last year was head shaving. I’m sure this will happen again this year. Many people participated in this and shaved their head and donated the hair to cancer. It was really emotional and powerful.
One of the ‘rules’ of the relay is that one person from your team must be on the track at all times. No, they don’t keep track and it’s not a big deal if you have to pee or something, but participating and following this rule makes it a lot of fun. You get to meet new people and talk with people you might not talk to very much when you’re walking. Since your close friends are most likely on your team, and only one of you has to be on the track at one time, you often find yourself on the track by yourself. I found that I strengthened friendships with some people I probably wouldn’t have talked to if it weren’t for the relay.

To avoid dragging on and on, I will close with this.
This year, I am relaying for my aunt, who has terminal cancer. She has fought this disease for one year now and her time is running out. For her, and for all others struggling with this disease… there IS hope, and this relay can help. It’s so important to participate and help other people. It is a life changing experience and I encourage all of you to participate in this amazing event.