Cars are big, you are small.

Today, the team had the absolute pleasure of getting to meet a member of the Livestrong Foundation! Lance Armstrong is one of the greatest inspirations in my life, and the entire Livestrong foundation is an absolutely amazing non-profit, that has touched millions of lives through all of the work that they do. The entire time that Brian, the Livestrong representative, was speaking to us, all I could think about was what an interesting effect cancer has on people. It's an individual experience, but it has united millions of people to do genuinely amazing things. The biggest thing that amazes me about Illini 4000, and all the other non-profits dedicated to ending cancer, is the generosity that comes from people in all walks of life. Livestrong, Illini 4000, and all the other cancer foundations simply wouldn't be possible without the pure generosity that comes from all of those who've been affected by cancer. Everyone knows someone who has been impacted by cancer's reach, and that's almost unfathomable. At our meeting today, we also had safety training, since we start outdoor training this weekend. One of the key points that Josh, our head of team development and training, made multiple times was, "Cars are big. You are small." When he first said that, I hadn't yet seen the phrase on the Powerpoint slide, and heard it as, "Cancer's big. You are small." Obviously, I was really confused as to what this had to do with safety training, but it did hit home. Cancer is very, very big. It's terrifyingly daunting, in reality. It's a disease that leaves a huge impact on every life it comes in contact with, and it comes in contact with almost every person. There are 29 of us, working together to try to fight this thing that's almost too big to fathom. Let's be honest. Cancer is big. We are small. However, we're only small as single entities. We're only small if we let ourselves be. Together, 29 of us are fighting like hell to try to make the change that we can. Even more importantly, people everywhere are donating, volunteering, or helping in their own way, in their own communities, to combat this disease that is so ensnared in our lives. Cancer is big. But together, so are we.