Profile

About: Hi there! I am Abigail Emery, and I am a second year here at UT. Although I don’t know what I want to ne when I grow up, I do know that I want to travel and see all of the marvelous things that the world has to offer. Whether it be food, music, hobbies, or whatever, I love discovering new things that I am passionate about.
Although my feet are firmly grounded in reality, I’m a little bit of a daydreamer. I am on my game when it comes to school and work, yet in the same moment I am thinking of how my future could be or of what I could accomplish in it. But I think that you need a healthy dose of that, especially in a world that can be as stressful and harsh as ours. Besides, I’m hoping that my wandering mind will help me channel some creativity into whatever profession I end up in, and that the ideas they produce will one day help people.

Why I Ride

When you receive bad news, it is very easy to clam up and pretend like it doesn’t bother you or that talking about it won’t change anything. That is exactly what I thought when I heard that my great-grandmother was diagnosed with cancer when I was 14 years old. While at first it can be uncomfortable and even disorienting to talk about this disease, once you start communicating, you start learning more about it and then something remarkable happens: the more you learn about it, the more you can help the people around you understand it. When knowledge spreads faster than cancer, we win. My favorite example of this effect is in the strength of my cousin, Ashley. Only one year ago, her then two-year-old son, Timmy, was diagnosed with leukemia. Instead of crawling into a hole as she probably would have liked, she fought it harder than anything I have ever seen. Simply by having the strength to reach out and let others share her struggle with her and by arming herself with every ounce of faith, hope, and knowledge she could find, her son is now on the road to recovery. Our family is all the stronger and more prepared for any struggle the future may bring. Through Texas 4000, I hope to use the example set by my family to help others fight cancer with knowledge and courage.