hehehe... if you know me, then you know why i am giggling. if not, then let me explain... i am female, but NEVER been much of a girly girl. in fact, i would say i am the polar opposite. i feel at home in a hardware store (worked at 2 of them for a combo of 4yrs), or a shop (i just finished school for motorcycle mechanics). since my diagnosis i have wanted to do something to educate people about melanoma and sun habits... i have ideas for a t-shirt line i will someday introduce... but in the meantime, i decided that reaching out to high school kids is a good way to start.
i contacted my old high school to figure out where to begin. i spoke with the school nurse because i thought she might be the most understanding. i was right... she suggested the school has a club called girl talk that i might start by addressing. i immediately emailed the contact she gave me for the teacher who mentors these girls. i recieved an email back, and she was very interested. my information will be passed along to the student president of the club to arrange the specifics. so exciting...
since i am not usually a public speaker i asked for any ideas or suggestions from a melanoma warriors group i am a part of... the response was amazing! i just wish i could get the whole group together for this... imagine 115 people directly affected, with their scars... sharing their experiences, their stories... with that many people you can just about guarantee a portion of people listening would connect to someone's experience... i think that is what i am a little nervous about... what if the girls don't connect with my story? i know its normal to connect with something familiar... since i am not a girly girl i am hoping these girls connect to my story as a person who grew up in san diego...
the recent tanning bed ban for minors in CA really got me thinking... it is a great start! but i saw some people were talking about it being useless... that really confused me. how could such an important step be useless? so i researched... one of my melanoma information sites answered my questions (one of these days i will figure out how to connect you all to said sites, for now i am technologically challegend). there was a person joyously boasting about the new bill... and one person saying she hopes it works because its hard to enforce... in her state the health dept didn't care, and the police don't think they should be enforcing it either... that is when i decided to reach out to the kids themselves... if we can get a campaign going like wildfire through high schools educating these kids that might make a difference. anyone interested in helping in any way would be greatly appreciated!!!
"you may say i'm a dreamer, but i'm not the only one, i hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one..." -john lennon
I think you talking to the girls at the high school is so fantastic! See? You're helping people already! I would love to help in any way I can, even if it's just giving my blog address so others can read my journey, or anything. I'm just so excited about your journey that you're on, and I know only good things will be the result of you fighting this awful beast. :)
ReplyDeleteHow exciting! I cant wait to read about how it goes. Let me know if there is any way I can help too. Congratulations on taking a huge step to get the word out..
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