It's all Greek to Me!: Round 4- Prefrence Round

So preference round was such a surprise! In a good way though. I loved all the chapters that invited me back. It was a total 180 from yesterday and I was so excited and happy to go into this round When I got my list I said "oh wow" and my rho gam was like "...is that good oh wow??" Hahah I was just so surprised and happy to see that Snow White invited me back because I did not feel like my round went well. And I was sooo happy with the other chapters I had on my list.

When I got my list these were the chapters I had:
Snow WhiteMerida
Tiana

Even though Cinderella dropped me I was SOO happy to see Tiana up there. I really loved these girls and would love being sisters with them.

In no particular order these are how the chapters went:
Snow White- their ceremony was gorgeous. I fell in love all over again while I was here. The girl who rushed me first told me she heard a lot of good things about me so she was excited to meet me. I loved that she said that because she made me feel so special and it felt genuine. The last girl me and her talked on a personal level which I loved. I had amazing conversations here and was so happy and felt at home.

Merida- LOvED this house and these girls. The conversation I had with my girl was amazing start to finish. We also have a lot in common. Regardless, I want to be friends with these girls. I love everything about them

Tiana- This ceremony was amazing. I just loved how special the girl who rushed me made me feel and we had such personal and fun conversations. This chapter was amazing and I would love to call them my sisters.

As you can tell I loved every chapter I went to haha. Which is good because tomorrow I will definitely be happy where ever I end up. But my heart has always loved Snow White. Preffing was so hard because everyone kept telling me they don't see me as a Snow WHite. But if I wasn't like them why would I have made it this far? Like listening to others is not a good idea at all when going through this so I went with my heart!

In order of houses I liked the best to least:
Snow WhiteMerida
Tiana

I know in my heart I made the best decision and I am soo excited for Bid Day tomorrow!

It's all Greek to Me!: Round 3- Philanthropy

So Saturday- Philanthropy Round:
This day was the worst day of recruitment for me. I was so sad and cried a lot when I got my bid card these were my houses:
Snow White
Cinderella
Tiana
Merida
MulanAurora

Belle dropped me which hurt so much. I loved this house and really wanted to go to their preference round. So the morning started off really bad because I was just really upset over that loss.

In no particular order, these are how the chapters went:
Snow White- This house was now my new number one and I wanted to make a good impression. Sadly, I didn't feel like I did well here. I don't know if it was because I was sad over Belle but I just didn't click with the girls. And then people kept talking badly about this house to me which confused me even more. I convinced myself to forget about this chapter because I didn't think the round went well and I didn't know if this was the best fit for me.

Cinderella- I still really like this house. I was a little nervous at first here, but then I loosened up and our conversation was awesome. It felt forced at times but overall I really like this chapter and their philanthropy. It truly hit home.

Tiana- So this chapter went extremely well. Their philanthropy video was so touching. I could honestly see myself in this chapter. And all the girls I talked to made me feel so at home. These girls were so amazing

Merida- I am impressed with this chapter. I love their philanthropy and the message that their chapter has. This round made me fall in love with them. I was so happy here.

Mulan- I am kind of sad I was invited back to here. I loved their philanthropy and the girl I talked to was awkward but nice. I just can't join this chapter. But these are such nice girls and I would love to be friends with some of them

Aurora- There philanthropy is so important to me. By far out of all of the chapters I love this one the most. I just don't think I am a good fit here. All the girls are nice and I would love to be friends with them. And the best thing about Greek Life is that no matter where you end up, you can always support one another. So I am definitely going to every philanthropy event they have because theirs is just so special to me!

So at the end of this round I was so confused. And upset. But I talked to my mom and she made me feel so much better. For Preference round tomorrow, we can go up to a total of 3 chapters. This is how I preffed:
Snow WhiteCinderella
Merida

In order from what chapters I liked the best to least:
TianaAurora
Mulan

Even though I didn't have the best time today at Snow White I still really liked them and wanted to see if they really liked me too. I was preparing for them to drop me so I was going to be fine with everything no matter what.

It's all Greek to me!: Round 2- Sisterhood Round

I did get dropped from a house I really loved which I was sad about but other than that everything else was great. When I get my preference sheet back my top 9 houses were:
BelleAriel
Jasmine
Snow White
Cinderella
Tiana
Merida
Mulan
Aurora

Rapunzel had dropped me and Aurora moved up to my top 9. Each round was 25 minutes and I left this round more confused than ever. I loved every house and didn't know hot chose:

Belle: Still so in love with this house. Our conversation was so chill and relaxing. We didn't talk about recruitment once. The girl who rushed me was in my major, so we talked about that the whole time and she gave me tips and advice. Then another girl came over and we talked about Netflix! Belle is definitely a top sorority for me and I hope I can see them for pref night on Saturday!

Ariel- so I really loved these girls and sisterhood and how they are all about academics, but I am not too sure if I can see myself here. I think I could be friends with some of the girls in this chapter but I didn't really get a feeling of being happy if I got a bid here. Conversations were great, just not too thrilled about being one

Jasmine- This house went waaaay better than the first round and I am glad that I decided to give it another chance. I love the two girls I talked to and one of them even knew my sister. I am not too sure on whether or not I will fit in with these girls so I want to give it another day to see. So I really hope I get invited back.

Snow White- This house is tied for my number one! Definitely want to be here for preference night on Saturday. And the girl who rushed me the first round remembered me and said hi to me! I loved the girl who I was talking to and I really hope I can really see myself be apart of this chapter. I can't wait for Friday to see if they asked me to come back!

Cinderella- I really liked this chapter. Me and another PNM were together with some of the girls in this chapter and we had nice genuine laughs. I felt like I could be myself here and not be judged. I loved it I would not be mad if I ended up here. Since this was sisterhood round some of the chapters showed a video to show their sisterhood, and these girls hands down had the best video. It made me want to be them, it was so amazing.

Tiana- These girls are had the best decorated room out of every chapter I saw. I loved it. These girls are classy, smart genuine girls. I am still torn if I would belong here. I felt like the conversations were forced at times but I still want to give them a chance to see if this could be home!

Merida- Really love this house and group of girls. They have a good sisterhood and I always see them laughing and having fun. I want to come back here and see if I can see myself here. I haven't been able to get a feel of their personalities yet but I think this could be a good fit for me!

Mulan- I really like this house but there is a girl in this chapter who I know and we don't get along. I am afraid if I stay here she will ruin it for me. The chapters here at my school have 74 girls max so they are small compared to southern schools. And as much as I like this chapter, I don't think I like it enough to be miserable at times.

Aurora- This was the house that I "regretted" from the first round. I wanted to give them another chance since they seemed to like me. I got to talk to 2 girls from the first round so I thought that was pretty cool. I still wasn't too sure if this was the best fit for me. The conversations felt forced and I didn't feel happy.

After a long 8 hour day it was time to pref. I could only choose 6 houses to go back to this Friday which meant I had to "regret" 3.

In no specific order my top 6 were:
BelleJasmine
Snow White
Cinderella
Tiana
Merida


In order from what I like the most to least:
Mulan
Aurora
Ariel

Friday starts the rest of recruitment and it is Philanthropy round. I can get invited back up to 6. The round goes until 11pm so I might not get to write until after Pref Night on Saturday. I have to wake up early Saturday morning so I will probably be too tired. This week is PNM week and I have some events planned with my Rho Gam group so I am pretty excited! Can't wait to tell you all where I end up this weekend!

It's all Greek to me!: Round 1- Day 2

So Day 2 of round 1 we visited the last 6 houses and I was soo tired of having the sae conversations over and over again but I am so glad I am done and can't wait to see what chapters I get invited back to tomorrow.
In no particular order:

Ariel- So the girl I talked to her was really nice. I don't think I fit in with these girls just because our personalities didn't match. She seemed very nervous and I had to direct the conversation a lot. I want to give this house another chance though and talk to someone else to see how I feel.

Rapunzel- Really liked this house and the girl who rushed me was very nice and down to earth. We talked on a personal level a few times which I loved. She also showed me their chapters photo album and I got to see their sisterhood first hand. I am really looing forward to learning more about this chapter.

Cinderella- I LOVED THIS CHAPTER. From the moment I walked in the conversation was so personal and I felt a connection with the girl who was rushing me. Its nice to get to know the person since we only have 20 minutes to make a decision if this sorority is for you or not. We had such similar interests and I loved getting to know what they're sorority is all about.

Tiana- I talked to 3 girls in this house and I really hit it off with one of the girls. We started talking about Disney and the rest is history. I loved every minute of it. the other two girls I loved talking to as well and I can't wait to get to know the chapter more. I'm not quite sure I will fit in here so I really want to get to know them more first.

Merida- I really enjoyed this house. The girl was nice and she made me feel at home. I can definitely see calling this house my home away from home but I definitely want to know more what this chapter is about.

Jasmine- This girl was pretty rude here. I did not get a very god feel while talking with her. She was very standoffish and didn't talk much, I had to direct the conversation and whenever I wouldn't, she would give me this look like I should be saying something. I really want to give this chapter a chance but I am not sure if this girl will want me to come back.

After the last house I went back to the meeting place with my Rho Gam group and we had to write down our top 9 in no particular order and our bottom to from what chapter we like the best to least. This wasn't too hard for me since I only had to "regret" 2 houses.

My top 9 houses I chose were:
BelleAriel
Jasmine
Snow White
Cinderella
Tiana
Rapunzel
Merida
Mulan


My bottom two houses in this order are:
Aurora
Pocahontas

So tomorrow I will find out which houses dropped me and which houses decided to keep me. I am so excited and nervous. Tomorrow is also a long 8 hour day so I am going to be so exhausted. It is Sisterhood round and I can't wait to learn more about these chapters

It's all Greek to Me: Round 1- Day 1

So recruitment started today and I am soo excited so far! I definitely love everything and Greek Life. It was part 1 of Round one and I visited 5/11 chapters on campus. After the first house everything went smoothly and the conversations didn't feel forced for more than half of them!
In no particular order:

Aurora- This house was kind of hard to get a conversation out of. The girls I talked to seemed very uncomfortable but passionate about their philanthropy which I loved! Their philanthropy hit home so it was nice getting to know everything that they do to get involved. I don't know if I can exactly see myself here but they were definitely a nice group of girls. I kind of felt awkwardness between the members of the chapter though.

Snow White- I am so surprised with how much I love this sorority. I went in thinking so much about their reputation and I immediately just cleared my mind and had an amazing conversation with this girl. We talked on such a personal and emotional level. I just loved our conversations and she talked to me like a sister and not just some person who she just met which I loved. These girls seemed just like me so girly and into glitter and makeup. I really love this chapter

Pocahontas- These girls were SOO nice but they were just not like me at all. The conversations weren't awkward but it felt like I was forcing myself to talk. They have such a great sisterhood and I think I can make some cool friends from the chapter, but I just can't see myself in it.

Belle- I LOVED THIS HOUSE. I can see myself being them and they are a well rounded sorority which I love. They care about grades, having fun, making friends, volunteering. If I got a bid from them I would be totally fine. The seem so good to be true because of how well rounded they are. This house is definitely in my top choices. The conversation felt so natural and the time flew by so quick. It was another personal type of conversations and the girl I was talking to was so similar to me I loved it.

Mulan- This house was very interesting. I am not too sure how I feel about it. The girl I talked to I loved our conversation it flowed so well but the atmosphere just seemed off. I want to give this chapter another chance but it depends on tomorrow and how many of those chapters I like. Even though I liked the girls I talked to, I don't think I can see myself here.

The first part of round 1 overall went pretty well. I am like so excited to see the rest of the chapters tomorrow and I cant wait to pref I can go back up to 8 houses on Sunday so I can't wait to see where I end up

It's All Greek to me! : Tomorrow is the Day!!

So tomorrow is the first day of recruitment and I cannot wait to share this experience with you!! I am so excited to have a new home next Sunday! Recruitment at BGSU is split into 4 rounds. The first two rounds are this weekend and the next two, along with bid day, are next weekend. Now for everyone who is not familiar with Greek terms, bid day is the day where everyone finds out what sorority they are in. Afterwards there is a big party and celebration with your new chapter. I will explain more as it gets closer.

At BGSU there are 11 Panhellenic Chapters. Throughout recruitment I am going to name each sorority after a Disney Princess for privacy reasons and so I can express how I truly felt at each chapter during the rounds.

Belle
Ariel
Aurora
Jasmine
Snow White
Pocahontas
Cinderella
Tiana
Rapunzel
Merida
Mulan

            After I receive my bid I will reveal what sorority I join but the other names will not be revealed.

            The first two rounds of recruitment are: Meet the Greeks and Sisterhood round. The first round is split up into two days. I will visit 5 chapters tomorrow and 6 on Saturday. The first round starts at 6:30 pm and I believe ends at 9. I have to arrive at our Student Union, where recruitment takes place, at 5 pm L. Some of my friends and I are going to get dinner beforehand since there isn’t a break.

            For the first round we have to wear a shirt that they provide us with and then we can wear pants, appropriate shorts, and shoes of our choice. I am going to wear pants my first day and shorts for the second day of Round 1.

            At the end of Round 1 on Saturday is when I will do my first pref, list the houses in the order that I like. We can visit up to 8 houses for Round 2. So how preffing works is you will go and write down your top 8 choices and then you will list your bottom 3 choices in the order of which one you like the most to dislike.

            While you do this, all of the other chapters are ranking EVERY pnm (potential new member- what you are before you receive a bid) that they see. When you go through recruitment you hear the phrase “trust the system” A LOT. What they mean by that is where ever you get placed or whatever houses you get asked back to, you need to trust that there is a reason for it. If you get released from a house that was your absolute favorite, you need to trust that it there was a reason for it.

The system is a mutual selection process which means you pick the sororities and the sororities pick you. So if a sorority in your top 8 doesn’t have you on your invite list, you will be released from their house. But if I chapter from your bottom 3 list wants you back but you don’t want them back and all 8 of your top choices want you to come back, you won’t have the bottom 3 on your list anymore. But if some of your top 8 houses don’t invite you to come back, but your bottom 3 do, the bottom 3 houses will start filling in the spaces of the top 3 houses so you will have a full schedule. It is very complicated and confusing but it works!

            So on Round 2, which is Sunday- Sisterhood Round, I can have up to 8 chapters that I can go back to. If I get invited back to 8 house I will have a full schedule, but if I don’t then I will have gaps in my day. At the end of round 2, I will pref again and I can get invited back up to 6 houses. So I will write down my top 6 and bottom 2.

            Next Monday-Thursday is PNM week, and I will be doing fun events with my recruitment group every night. Then Friday and Saturday are rounds 3 and 4 and then Sunday is Bid Day!! I am so excited and can’t wait for everyone to read about my experience J

Early Prognosis means a Better Diagnosis

So September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and I want to light up the world with TEAL to help show awareness. Every single day on my Facebook, I will be doing something to help show awareness. I want to see how many people we can help inform on the dangers of Ovarian Cancer and how it is a silent killer! Early Prognosis means a better diagnosis.

I know September is not for two months, but I am going to be extremely busy from surgery, work, getting ready for college, and Going Greek! So I wanted to make the announcement now so that EVERYONE has time to get their teal shirts ready and help think of ways that you as a person can spread awareness! J

Side note: September is also Childhood awareness month. My cancer was childhood cancer and I just believe childhood cancer should not exist. So I think we should help spread awareness for both causes. Also the last week of September is take a loved one to the hospital day. So I have some big things planned for that as well!

And always remember, breasts aren’t the only thing that cause harm to women! Help spread awareness.

Survivors Teaching Students

I have been giving this amazing opportunity last week that helps support women with Ovarian Cancer. There is an organization called Survivors Teaching Students, (STS), and I have gotten in contact with them about coming in and speaking to medical students about my situation. They were so delighted and happy I reached out because a lot of the students in the Cleveland area wanted to talk with someone who was close in age so they could feel a better connection. At this moment, I knew I had to do this.

Ever since I was first diagnosed all I would say is how I wish there was someone who I could talk to, who was my age, so that I could relate to them. Cancer affects you in many different ways depending on what stage in life you are in. For me, I was 18 years old. Cancer didn’t affect my bills or my kids, husband and/or grandkids. I was too young to have any of those. Cancer affected my social life at school and with friends. That is pretty much it. I just started college and was beginning to make new friends and I was just plucked away from all of that. Everyone who I would talk to never really understood how hard that is for someone simply because they were way passed that chapter in life.

I am so excited to talk with these medical students because they will be able to relate and see how much cancer really affected me personally.

            “Welcome to Survivors Teaching Students: Saving Women’s Lives®, a program of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance! You are joining an innovative and critical effort to educate students in health professional programs nationwide about ovarian cancer. Our goal is to increase the number of health care providers who recognize the risk factors and symptoms of ovarian cancer so that the disease is detected earlier.” This is a piece straight from their handbook that I have to read, which describes what exactly this organization does. STS is so important because many women don’t realize they have cancer until it is too late. Causing their diagnosis to go unnoticed for months to years. By sharing with people in the medical field we will be able to provide them with knowledge so they know what to look for in women. The symptoms are so common that ovarian cancer is overlooked immensely. It was overlooked for me 3 times before it was caught.

            I have to write my whole journey so that it will be 5-7 minutes and then send it to the people in charge of the organization for the greater Cleveland area. I then will go and talk with partnering schools, as of right now they have done a class at Lake Erie, and share my story and answer questions.

            I am so excited for this opportunity and I know it will open up so many doors for me. I always wanted to get involved with cancer in some way and I am happy that I found this opportunity. I will definitely keep everyone updated on what is going on and when my first class will be!

It's all Greek to Me

I have decided to go Greek my sophomore year and I am so happy about it! I signed up to do formal rush my freshman year of high school because my friend talked me into it, but I couldn’t really see myself being in Greek Life. A lot of things happened and I decided not to go through with it. A little bit after I found out I was sick, one of my friends I made who was in a sorority really helped me out the two weeks I went back to school. Her whole sorority was nice and kind to me. They decorated my door with this big sign that read “Don’t let Ovarian Cancer Dull Your Sparkle”. They also teamed up with a fraternity and they through me a surprise party. They made signs and letters that read Hope. The fraternity also sang the song Just the Way You Are to me. It was very nice and made me feel amazing. I just remember thinking after that day how those girls treated me so well and I wasn’t even one of their sisters. Just imagine if I was. I knew at that moment I had to Go Greek. I wanted to be a part of this amazing organization that does things like this all of the time. I wanted to be a part of the sisterhood and gain the everlasting friendships. I also was only at school for a month my freshman year so I don’t really know anyone and this is an excellent way to get involved.

            Formal Recruitment is the first two weekends of school it has 5 rounds. The first round is split up into 2 days and it is where you meet the Greeks. I believe there are 13 sororities so over the first two days you go and meet with each chapter and talk to them and get to know what they are all about. The second round, which is the third day, is called sisterhood round. I do not know exactly what this round is all about, but I am assuming you get to learn what the chapters do together for fun and out in the community. Also how they bound. The third round, fourth day, is called Philanthropy Round. Every sorority has a national, and sometimes local, Philanthropy that they raise money and donate too. Some of the examples on campus are: Service for Sight, Autism Awareness, Make a Wish Foundation…just to name a few. So for this round you get to see what each chapters Philanthropy is and how they raise money and get involved to help support it. The fourth round, fifth day, is called Preference round which is also known as Pref Parties. This day is a lot more serious and formal. You need to dress nice and look presentable. This is where you meet with the chapters and have a more in depth conversation with the girls and their chapter. I am not too sure about the specifics, this is just stuff I have read online. The Fifth round and final day is called Bid Day. This is where you get a bid from a chapter and you get to meet your new sisters. All of these rounds lead up to this day and it is very exciting. I am going to blog about my experience so I will make sure to write about every single day!

Normally, you would go through each round inside the chapter’s house on campus, however all of our Greek Houses got torn down last year. We are in the process of getting brand new houses built and they will be ready by next fall. Fall recruitment next year will be held inside the sorority houses. This year, they’re inside our Student Union on campus.

New Greek Houses

            The girls who are going through recruitment are called PNMs (Potential New Members). Every PNM has a group of ladies called Rho Gammas. Rho Gammas could be called something different depending on your school. At BGSU, you have 3-4 Rho Gammas. A Rho Gamma is someone who disaffiliates with their sorority to help others find their new home (sorority). It takes a lot to be a Rho Gamma because you can’t talk or do anything with your sorority until Recruitment is over. I LOVE my RGs and already can tell they are going to help me out a lot. They have already given us a guide on what to wear for each night of recruitment and have helped answer some of my questions I have had about the whole process. Rho Gammas are also not allowed to be biased so when you go through recruitment, you will be able to talk to them if you are having trouble picking out what sorority you want to join.

I am so excited for this process to start and I can’t wait to find my new home in a few month

MRI Appointment

I am always nervous whenever I go in for an MRI, so today wasn’t any different. I have to get an MRI every 3 months for the rest of this year to make sure my cancer hasn’t come back. This MRI is also going to look at my tumor my doctor found earlier in the year. My cancer doesn’t have a high reoccurrence rate when chemo is used, so I am not really nervous about the results just the test itself.

Whenever I get an MRI, I always go to the main campus of UH and the MRIs are all the way in the basement. It is so eerie down there and just sets a very bad tone. This time I got to get an MRI inside of Seidman Cancer Center and I LOVE this building! It is brand new so everything is nice and it makes you feel like you are at home.

 

 

They also have this cancer store where you can buy merchandise and apparel for every single type of cancer. I really wanted to get a shirt that said survivor but then something else caught my eye. The day before I was telling my mom how I loved all of the UH fertility specialist’s company jackets and I really wanted one, except I wanted it to say Seidman Cancer Center. I spent a good chunk of the last year of my life there from my surgery, chemo, and appointments. And what do you think I found….that exact jacket! It was pricey, and even though I thought all cancer patients should get one for free haha, I bought it! And it put me in such a good mood.

 

To make things even better, the nurse who put my IV in was trained in doing it so she got it in on the first try! When I went into my MRI, it was really relaxing and nice. They have a nice scenario that plays on the walls and soothing music. Way different then the MRIs in the main campus. It made me feel safe and calm and they only had to redo one of my pictures. Normally they have to redo a lot of pictures because I move around a lot.

The only downside was that I had to get this shot that slows down movement in my intestines so they can get better pictures. This shot always makes me so nauseous and sick. But other than that everything else went well!

After my appointment I met up with a girl I met on facebook who has brain cancer. She was signed up to do the Disney College Program for the fall term and posted in the Facebook group how she couldn’t attend anymore due to cancer. I reached out to her because I was put in a similar situation. I found out I had cancer a week after I got accepted into the program. We talked for awhile until one day we found out we went to the same hospital and lived pretty close to each other! She gets her chemo treatments done at Rainbows in UH and radiation at the Seidman Cancer Center. She was getting radiation that day and I stopped down to chat with her before she went in. It was so nice to talk to someone who knew exactly how I felt and what I have gone through. We were both freshman when we found out and we both couldn’t go back to school. I plan on going to Rainbows to visit her during one of her chemo treatments really soon. Every please say a prayer for my friend Mackenna, she has a long battle but she is definitely a fighter!

 

I get my results back from my MRI tomorrow and I will post how everything goes.

 

Fertility Treatments

So last Thursday I went a fertility doctor to figure out my options for the future. I needed to see a fertility specialist because I have a tumor on my last ovary. This tumor is not supposed to be cancerous and I am going to get a surgery to get the tumor removed. My doctor told me he wanted me to see a specialist before he did the surgery in case he had to take out my ovary. I had my left ovary removed when I had my first surgery back in October. If I lose my last ovary I will go into “forced menopause”, I think it’s called that, and I won’t be able to have kids.

The appointment was just supposed to be a consultation and my mom and I were going to get information on my options. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go through with the treatments. I was nervous and scared and I didn’t mind the idea of adopting my kids.

However, when I got there my fertility specialist just started talking to me like I was going through with the procedure. My mom really wanted me to do it and they both made a really good point. I can always just go through it so I have that option later down the road. I started preparing myself for everything I would need to do and I became more comfortable with the idea.

My doctor went over the basics of what the procedure would be like and everything I will need to do. The whole process is 2 weeks and I will need to take medicine during those weeks that will increase my hormone and estrogen level. On the 36^th hour of the last day, I will go into the hospital and prepare for surgery. The surgery will be very minor and my anesthesia will be light. It will feel like I am in a twilight. I have never had any teeth pulled, but I think it is the same feeling when they put you to sleep. While I’m asleep, they will go and get as many eggs as they can and then freeze them. The whole process takes up to 45mins. So it will be a very quick, easy procedure.

After I talked with the doctor, I spoke with two nurses that will be helping me with the medicine and surgery for the whole two weeks. First they explained to me how to use my medicine. I have two shots I have to do BY MYSELF and one pill I have to take orally. The shots have to be given at night in the belly and I can take the pill anytime that I want. I have to also come into the doctor’s office three days a week early in the morning to get an ultrasound and blood work done.

I had to get a lot of blood work done at my appointment when I went as well. They had to check to make sure I didn’t have a lot of diseases and wasn’t pregnant and things like that. I always warn nurses before they poke me that I am a hard stick. They normally need to get a specialist to put an IV in or get blood. The nurses never listen, and I don’t if it’s a pride reason or what but they always think they can do it. They tell me how they have been doing this for a while and they should be able to handle it. Well five pokes later they finally listen to me and get someone who specializes in this area. The same thing happened that day and I had to get poked 5 times before they found a good veinL.

This day was so stressful because my doctor wanted me to start this procedure the very next day. When he did an exam on me he looked to see how many eggs my ovary had released and there were 16. You need 8 eggs for one baby. Each month your ovaries release a certain amount of eggs. 16 was very low, but I only had one ovary and my doctor thinks chemo messed up some of my eggs. He was very happy with this number because he was expecting it to be much lower.

I was way too nervous and felt like I was being pressured into starting the next day and I did not like it all. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to freeze my eggs yet. The appointment had gone from a consultation to you are freezing your eggs to you are starting tomorrow all in the matter of seconds and I was beyond scared. After much talking, I was able to get everyone on the page of me starting next week! I am not sure how many eggs I will have but I need at least 8.

I am very fortunate because most of this stuff is being paid for by two different companies. Both Livestrong and Walmart have programs where they donate the medicine that is needed to people who have been effected by cancer. These companies will also pay for my surgery and when I am ready to have kids, there is a good chance they will pay for the surgery to put the fertilized eggs back inside of me. My family is very lucky because this process is very expensive. I am not sure how much my medicines or the initial surgeries cost, but to keep your eggs frozen it is $570 every year. I will have to start paying for this in 2018 until I am finished with them. The surgery to put your eggs back in is around 15k. So it is a lot and very stressful.

I will post more when I start my treatments and keep everyone updated on my experience!

 

June Doctor Visits

In June, I will be going to see a fertility specialist and get another MRI. I have to get an MRI to make sure my tumor has not grown and see a specialist so I can know my chances of having kids. I am very nervous for my appointment with my fertility specialist because I do not want to hear that I am not able to have kids. I have not decided on whether or not I will freeze my eggs because that is such a hard decision to make. I will also be having surgery to remove my tumor on my left ovary and I am hoping to make that appointment sometime in June as well.

I will make sure to write about how my appointments goes when I go to them in June!

Freshman Year at Bowling Green State University

On August 28th, I applied to do the Disney College Program for my spring semester of my freshman year. On October 10th, I found out I had a tumor on my ovaries and I thought my life had ended. My doctor reassured me that she believed the tumor wasn't cancerous and all I would need was surgery. On October 11th, I found out I was accepted into the program and I started to have hope. I knew that this little bump in the road was only temporary and in a couple weeks I would be able to go back to school and finish off my first semester of school and then go to Disney in the spring. I had it all planned out. Two weeks of school work would be a piece of cake to make up.

On October 28th, when I got the dreadful news that I in fact had cancer, I knew school was out of the picture. So was Disney. There was no way I could make up a semester's worth of school work and plan on going to Disney the start of my next semester. I had lost hope.

But with the help of my family, friends, teachers, doctor, and guidance councilor, I was able to achieve what I once thought was impossible. My doctor set up my treatment plan so I would be done in time to go to Disney and my school worked with me so I could still try to finish up my first semester and not have to drop out.

I was taking six classes my first semester. I was able to finish three of them by the end of the semester. My English class I had to drop and my professors for my other two classes gave me to the end of the year to make up my work.

While in Disney I decided to take two online classes. One was my English class and the other one was a class for my major. I also was going to finish up the two classes I couldn't do last semester. So I was technically taking 4 classes! I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. It was too much work plus with my health and Disney I thought I was biting off more than I could chew!

Well I am proud to say with one week left in my first year of college, I was able to pass my English class and pass ALL five papers that were due. AND complete ALL of my classwork from last semester. I still have one more week left in my other class but I am so proud of myself. I have beat the odds and I don't have to retake my freshman year.

I never wanted cancer to ruin my life. Even though I am not your average teenager, I still wanted to be. I am sad I missed out on most of my freshman year...but I am happy that I am going to be able to move on and be a Sophomore when I start school in the fall!

My Health and Disney

I am so happy and blessed that I have been able to do this amazing opportunity. I do wish I would have waited until I wasn't sick because working for Disney puts a lot of stress on my body. I have been to the hospital twice since I was down here and I am currently trying to fight off being sick right now. My managers have been really helpful and have worked with me during all of this. It is hard trying to go to work while I am still weak from all of my treatments.

I thought as soon as I was done, my body would bounce right back to normal. I didn't take in to consideration all of the things chemo does to your body. It is a medicine, but it is still harmful. I am starting to see all of the side effects and it is starting to take a toll on me. The biggest one is my memory loss. I have a hard time remembering stuff even conversations that happened 10 minutes ago. My blood count is still pretty low and I am having a hard time with my breathing.

It is hard going to work everyday with all of these pains, but I am not a quitter. I am a fighter and I plan on sticking it out until my program ends on May 29th. Just one more month to go!

Florida Hospital

Cancer Free: March 24th 2015

So I know earlier on in the year I posted about being cancer free...well I wasn't really. I had to wait until March to get another MRI to make sure a tumor I had hasn't grown or shown any signs of cancer. Well on March 24th, 2014 I got the news that I was cancer free and that the tumor has not grown which is such good news! I was so excited and I celebrated in Disney as soon as I got back. I am so happy to be cancer free and I will remember this day for the rest of my life.

Holidays at Disney

So I spent Easter away from my family for the first time EVER. It was so weird. Although I had the day off, I still wish I was home. I spent the day with one of my friends and we went to dinner with her roommate later on that night. I could never imagine being away from my family for Christmas or Thanksgiving, so I am so glad I am not doing the fall program! Easter was tough, but those holidays would be worse.

The crowd level on Easter Sunday was not bad at all. I was expecting it to be much worse. However the days following Easter were HORRIBLE. It was so crowded. I definitely would recommend avoiding coming to Disney during holidays and Spring Break because it is hot and busy. Wait times were over 2 hrs for some of Disney's popular rides. That is just insane to me. I am just happy that next Easter I will be able to spend it with my family. :)

Disney College Program

A lot has happened to me since I last wrote about this program. I have met so many amazing friends and people. I can not imagine leaving any of them.

I will start off with character performer auditions and my program extension. I sadly did not get an email regarding character performing so I am assuming it is a not for me. Although I am sad I would not have been able to accept this role even if I was offered it. I also can no longer accept my offer to extend my program until July 30th. I have to go home for medical things. I am thinking about applying for the program again after I graduate college assuming I don't have a job.

Work has been amazing! I love all of my managers, coordinators, and fellow cast members. My managers have been so nice and accommodating with me and have made sure I felt safe in everyway. I am going to miss working at Animal Kingdom so much but I know it will be nice to be home and with family. I work in Merchandise in Asia and I have two different jobs. One is being a merchandiser/greeter/merchantainer and the other is floor stocking. When I am doing my first job I am ringing up guests, answering questions, and interacting with our merchandise and bringing the items to life. When I am floor stock, I am making sure that our stores and carts are show ready and restocking all the items that are needed.

FRIENDS. One thing that Disney never tells you about are all of the lifelong friends that you will meet. I have so many friends that I plan on having for the rest of my life. Some I have even told are going to be my bridesmaids. They have no choice! Haha. I have made so many memories with people and I am so thankful for that.

Memories. I have been able to do and experience so much on this program. I have gone to Universal, which I haven't been able to do before! And I was able to go see the ACTUAL carriage used in the new Cinderella movie and take a picture with a glass slipper. I have been able to eat at various Disney restaurant's with my friends and I am so thankful for all of that. I am going to be so sad with this program ends, but I know I will be able to have the memories that will last a lifetime.

I am still ALIVE!!!

Well I have not written a blog post in quite some time and I apologize! This program takes up so much of your time and between school, work, trying to get healthy, and making time for friends, it has been hard keeping up with this blog! I want to continue with this blog so all of my friends and family can see what I am up to. My program for the DCP ends in almost a month, I have more doctor visits in June (and possible surgery), and I will be starting my Sophomore year of college in the Fall!

I have been so busy but I am going to try and start writing in here more, now that I have my life together. I can't wait to see what these next few months will bring, but I will make sure I blog all about it!

DCP: Updates

I took a 3 week hiatus from my blog when I got down here. It took me a while to adjust to work and for my body to adjust from all of my chemo treatments. It has been really hard and I definitely have had my ups and downs while being here. I am still happy I came and I have a lot of fun memories already with some amazing people!

I went to Universal for the first time and also have gone to the Disney parks. It is so nice being able to go to the parks anytime I want for free!

I also had my first two days of work by myself without my trainer. I had one day of stocking and another day at registers. Stocking is easy for me I just don’t like it and I still need more practice on the registers. All the days that I work next week, I am on registers so I am hoping that I will be an expert really soon. I typically work Tuesday-Saturday and have Sunday and Monday off. I work about 35hrs a week which isn’t too bad.

I am going to start writing in my blog more now that I am getting used to everything. Here are some of my favorite pictures with my friends:

I have many more pictures which you can find here on my Facebook page. Thank you to everyone who has been following my journey and I will be updating you guys on my blog about 3-4 times a week starting this week! So make sure to keep checking back so you can follow my DCP adventures J

DCP: Character Performer Auditions

So yesterday I went to another character performer audition to extend into entertainment through the summer with Walt Disney World. The audition went fantastic!

I went with three of my friends and we got there at 8:30 and check in started at 9. Even though we got there ½ hour before we were supposed to, there was already 200 people in front of us. Literally. I was number 201. There was about 500 College Program kids who had come to this audition.

The first round of this audition, they took people in groups of 50-80 and we learned a short parade dance. It was two 8 counts. After we learned it, we performed the parade dance in front of two casting directors. We had to do the dance three times while moving across the floor. Once everyone finished we all sat down so we could find out who would be making it onto the next round. Since there were so many people who auditioned, not very many people moved on to the next round. About 10 people moved on from my group, and I was one of them! I was so excited and felt so happy J

If you make it into the second round you are automatically in consideration for a character performer role. There was about 50-60 kids who made it into the second round. We are all considered for the role but not everyone will get it.

Once you make it into the second round the first thing you do is get your picture taken and you get your height measured. Now there are two different heights in Disney World. Your actual height and then your Disney height. Disney will measure you a couple inches higher or lower depending on what character they want you to be friends with. My actual height is 5’1 ¾. My Disney height is 5ft. Which is mouse height and fairies.

After you get all of that done, you learn an animation and a longer and harder dance. Our animation we had to pretend we were washing a mystical creature for 30 seconds and then we had to turn into that mystical creature that’s being washed for 30 seconds. It was hard at first but once I got my animation down I was good. When you do the animation, your body only is telling the story so you cannot talk. Which makes it challenging but as a character performer, you might be friends with a fur character who needs to talk through their body because they simply cannot talk. Once you practice your animation, you learn your dance. The dance combination is a way for the casting director to figure out who they want as a parade performer. It is meant to be tough so they can pick out the strong dancers. As long as you smile through the dance you will be fine. Fake it until you make it. They are mainly looking at animation for this round.

After we learned the dance we performed it in front of a casting director and then we were all done. We find out if we made it sometime between March 19-25. I think I did a really good job and feel like I have a good chance in making it this time!

DCP: Merchandise Tier 5

Your last day of training is called Merchandise Tier 5. For my location this day was all about learning how to use photo memory maker in Everest. When you get off the ride, Expedition Everest, you have the opportunity to get a picture of your ride and that is where us merchandise cast members come in.

I learned all of the things I need to know to assist guests with their pictures. And boy was it a lot of information. I felt overwhelmed by the end of the day.

I am so happy to be done with training and I am looking forward to working all by myself!

DCP: Merchandise Tier 4

Merchandise Tier 4 is where you learn how to stock. Stocking is part of your job description when you are accepted for the role of merchandise. Stocking is my least favorite because it is really hard and boring. However, it does make your day go by faster because you are constantly moving.

Stocking isn’t a difficult task because you are simply replacing merchandise as it runs out. It just isn’t too fun for me because I don’t think you get a lot of guest interaction. If you like working at your own pace and being by yourself you will love it because that is pretty much all it is haha.

DCP: Merchandise Tier 3

Your next day of training is called Merchandise Tier 3. Here you apply all what you have learned in merchantainment and you work the registers at your location.

Although I have two years of retail experience, there is no retail like Disney retail. It is very hard dealing with guests at the parks. There is also so much you need to know and do because of everything Disney offers for their guests.

I mainly worked a cart right outside of a ride called Kali River Rapids. I pretty much sold ponchos, towels, and shirts. It was a tough first day of actually work, but working with such amazing helpful people made the day go by a lot faster.

DCP: Merchantainment

Your next day of training is called Merchantainment. This is a class you take on how to work the registers at Disney. Every single register is the same so this class will help you get the basics on what you need to know.

You will also talk a lot about the four keys in this class and learn how to apply it to work when you are ringing out customers. You get to see actually footage of Disney Employees caught on tape who stole money from the company. It’s all really interesting!

DCP: Merchandise Tier 1

When you get the role of merchandise, your training is broken up into five days. Your first day is called Merchandise Tier 1. For Animal Kingdom, this day is another day to get used to your park.

We started the day of with doing e-learning…or taking online tests. You take A LOT of these while training, they aren’t the best but they certainly aren’t the worst.

After you do a couple tests you go and take an in-depth tour of the part of the park you will be working in. I am working in Asia so went around and visited all of the carts I will be working in. Asia is separated into two parts for Merchandise. Asia Carts and Everest. There are 3 carts in Asia and a store and a cart for Everest. I can work at any of the two parts when I am scheduled for a shift.

After I took a tour of Asia, I went to go visit some of my managers. I have ten managers and so far I have met 6 of them. They are all so nice and make me enjoy working!

This is pretty much all you do on your first day. J

DCP: DAKlimation

DAKlimination is a day where you get acclimated to Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK). I loved DAKlimation because I got to learn a lot about the history of this park. We also got to ride an early morning safari on Kilimanjaro. We saw so many gorgeous animals.

After we talked about the history of the park we went back and watched some videos and then we got to eat lunch. After lunch we went and got our costumes. Now Animal Kingdom has a reputation of having some of the best costumes offered. I am not going to lie ours are way better than most. I have to costumes: One for when I stock and another one for when I am at the registers. Both aren’t bad and I will post pictures when I have some!

This day is a really fun day and helps you get excited before you start working. It allows you to get a better feel of Walt’s vision for this park and allows you to spread the message better while talking with guests.

DCP: Traditions

Disney traditions is your first day of work. It’s also the day where you get to start going into the parks for free because you have your blue company ID. Your company ID is pretty much your key to the world. You need it to get into backstage at any Disney location and you also need it so you can work. Without it, you are not considered an employee for the Disney Company so it is very important you don’t lose it.

For traditions you need to dress nice and comfortable because you will be doing some walking around.

The first thing you do at traditions is watch a safety video and go over the 4 keys: Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency. These four words will be drilled into your head by the end of your second week! They are the key to how the Walt Disney company runs so smoothly.

You watch a lot of safety videos and also get a few surprises along the way. You will get your nametag and get to experience why being a cast member is so meaningful.

There will be a walking tour and you will get to see so many amazing things! I am not allowed to share much of what goes on at traditions because it is a secret. However every cast member goes through this class and is your initiation into the Walt Disney Company. Traditions can be dry at times but it is honestly what you make of it.