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During this past summer, I was in the Bahamas, having a wonderful time there.
But since I wanted to keep contact with all of my friends and family through
email, I decided to go to a nearby Computer Cafe. And that's when the scariest
thing happened.
My friend instant messaged me, saying, "Why weren't you at Mercy's funeral?"
I looked at the message in awe. Mercy was a girl who used to be in my class
-- I knew she had leukemia, a common type of blood cancer. Since this friend
who was IM'ing me didn't check her email often, she didn't know that I was in
the Bahamas right then, and that I didn't know that Mercy had passed away.
I slowly drew in my breath and typed, "Mercy's... dead?!"
"Yeah, her funeral was today... you didn't know? :-("
I was shocked. Mercy had just turned 12. How could she die only four months
after she found out about her cancer? I started to cry.
When school started after the summer, a lot of the kids were getting active
about breast cancer, and talking about how you could help. People all over were
wearing the pink ribbon, and they started to wear the Livestrong bracelets to
support Lance Armstrong's cause to fight cancer. Cancer surrounded me everywhere.
I decided that after losing Mercy, my great-grandmother (on my mom's side) and
my great-uncle (on my dad's side), I wanted to do everything I could to help.
I am getting a Livestrong bracelet from my friend. I wore a pink ribbon earlier,
and now I am going to try to find a pin for my backpack. I still talk with my
two friends to cope with the loss, because my good friend was devastated after
constantly visiting Mercy in the hospital.
I remember when I was little, I loved to go shopping for food with my dad every
Sunday. There was always this little box where I donated all of my change (which
was A LOT!). I don't go shopping with my dad as much as I used to, but two months
ago I went again. And you know what that little box was for? To support leukemia
victims. I had been a supporter of cancer treatment and research my whole life.
This was a sign: I had to become more active.
Now, if I don't go shopping with my dad, I give him money to put in that little
box. It's not much, but after a couple months, it adds up to a lot. I donate
every cent of spare change I have to every box I see supporting cancer treatment
and/or research. I want to help other people who have any kind of cancer, so
that they won't have to suffer, nor will their family or friends.
Please, support a cause. Donate that little 10 cents you have left from buying
a candy bar. If everyone did, we'd have a lot of money to help fight all kinds
of problems, from disease to poverty. Wear a homeade pink ribbon, and buy a
Livestrong bracelet because that money goes to help fund ongoing research for
the cure for cancer. Even buy any kind of ribbon for your backpack, or shirt,
as long as it's going to a good cause. If you knew a person with cancer, wouldn't
you at LEAST want to save that one life?
I'm not saying you JUST have to support people with cancer. But I think teens
and kids in America and all other countries can get more involved. My school
takes students on a trip to Springfield (when we're in the 8th grade) to pursuade
Illinois legislatures of certain things, like more funding to support a cause
or other political issues.
This is coconut02, signing off, encouraging you to get involved.
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