Christian. Strong. Bright. Daughter. Spontaneous. Optimistic. Sister. Confident. Blessed. Aunt. Loyal. Energetic. Chi Omega. Young. Enthusiastic. Texan. Adventurous. Healthy. Longhorn. Athletic. Bold. Reliable. Friend. Extrovert. Driven. Classy. Student. Witty.

These words describe the essence of who I am and who I am becoming. I strive to fully represent each of these words and their meanings to the best of my ability every day.

I am the baby of my family by every definition. I still wear bows in my hair and like to play dressup. I cannot decide on a major, but I really wish it could be world peace. My family thinks I am a mess, but I thrive on not planning too far into the future. Like Christopher McCandless wrote, “...there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” Like McCandless, I love not knowing what each day will bring or what challenges I will face between sunrise and sunset.

Cancer has words such as hopeless, defeat, and fatal associated with it. Although those words are rightfully given, tremendous advancements have been made over the last decade that have enabled many patients to conquer this disease. Texas 4000 is moving in the direction of progress by raising money and raising awareness to fight cancer, but most importantly by spreading hope.

I ride for those who cannot. I ride for those fighting this disease alone. I ride for all of the grieving families who have lost loved ones. I ride for the fallen. I ride for all of the survivors who have conquered cancer. I ride for the brave souls fighting it now. I ride for my daddy whom I lost to prostate cancer. Most of all, I ride for the hope that one day there will be a cure.