About Me

Profile

About: I was born in the extremely homey and warm town of Fort Worth, TX right next to the amazing Fort Worth Zoo. If you haven’t been there and you live in Texas, you should definitely go visit- it is one of my favorite places ever and will always have a special place in my heart. But when I was eight, my dad got a job in San Antonio so the summer going into second grade we packed up and moved. I was devastated at the time, but living in San Antonio has been a great time with great people in a great city- can’t forget that Alamo!
My family is very close; I’m the youngest of four kids with two amazing parents. We’re all a solid family unit, but that also extends to distant cousins. My parents frequently have Shabbat dinners with family members that are barley related to us, but we’ve kept in close touch with for years. Whenever I walk in through the door for one of these dinners, after driving the hour and a half it takes to get home from campus, I’m always greeted with loud excitement and love. Regardless of how distant the lineage is my family is always close in heart.
Last year, a friend convinced me to do the Livestrong half marathon and I loved it! I plan on doing the full marathon this coming February right before my 20th birthday as a good way to greet the new era of my life that comes with hitting the big 2-0.
I’m currently undeclared, but am taking premed classes to become an oncologist, like my dad. Not knowing what I’m going to major in can be scary, but I’m enjoying learning about many different subjects and taking in as much information as I can. Who knows where I can end up?

Why I Ride

I ride for two people- my dad and my grandpa, Papa Max. My dad is a pediatric hematologist oncologist, working with blood and cancer and sometimes both. I grew up going to the hospital to visit him- seeing kids my age with masks on to show only their big eyes peeking out and their bare bald heads. Cancer was always a story that was told at dinner when Dr. David Friedman would come home. It was always a tragedy my dad had to face and fight everyday. Cancer was integrated into my daily life since I can remember, but it was always in the distance- never did I come face-to-face with it. Not until my sweet Papa Max was diagnosed.
Suddenly cancer took on an entirely different role. It wasn’t something I could just shake my head at in remorse but then leave it alone. Cancer became tangible, this heavy weight that I had to deal with. It was really difficult to swallow, but Papa Max was always the first one to console me of the awful situation he was in. His main concern was how my family and myself handled the news being the selfless and light-hearted man I admired. Once the cancer spread to his brain, he was put on hospice and almost immediately passed. It was my first semester of college when we had to regrettably say goodbye to the most loving man I knew.
I ride for the two of them, the two men who have been an inspiration for me my entire life- my dad, who has dedicated his entire life to fighting cancer, and my grandpa, who was a victim.