On September 11th 2009, my Aunt Elizabeth died of colon cancer. I was in 11th grade. On that day, I was aware that my mom had gone with Elizabeth to Dallas so that Elizabeth could undergo another operation, but I didn’t learn that Elizabeth had passed until bereaved family friends started showing up at my […]

Howdy everybody, I’m very late in writing this, in all honesty, because I’ve been dreading it. I’ve been dreading it because a lot has happened since I signed on with this amazing organization. A lot of really great things. And one particularly terrible thing. My father and namesake, John Adam Malonis Sr., died June 21, […]

What separates money donated directly to the MD Anderson Research Center and money donated through Texas 4000 are the intangibles: the spread of spirit and message. While donating directly to the Cancer Center is extremely noble, the only thing accomplished through this donation is a tiny dent in the money needed for cancer research. The […]

After joining Texas 4000, an organization of students dedicated to raising money for cancer research, it took me 5 months to ask for a single donation. I thought “no need to commit yet, just wait”, and I felt as though there is no turning back once someone has donated to a cause in your name. So […]

WOOO! I’m cycling for Austin to Alaska to fight cancer.  The 70-day, 4500 mile trek will be intense, and I will need your support. Please invest in me and donate to this cause and join the fight! Click here to donate: http://texas4000.kintera.org/faf/login/page_edit.asp?ievent=1103253&lis=0&kntae1103253=D42E95A66C1E4AE38083396401203675

Day 65: I woke up this morning knowing a few things. One, I would be crossing back into the United States this day. And two, that I was lucky enough to be partaking in the border race we were having that day. With no more expectations than that, I was most definitely surprised by the […]

Day 54: Keeping up with a blog is a pretty hard thing to do this summer, but I wanted to take note of the types of experiences we have throughout the summer. Today was a day worth noting due to the things we did, conversations we had, and realizations I came to. The best way […]

We have officially begun our Saturday morning workouts for this year! The ending of summer was met with a 5k fitness test to be completed in less than 27 minutes. I spent a lot of time preparing for the 5k this summer, since I wouldn’t consider myself a runner by any means – thank goodness […]

This past Friday was the three year anniversary of my fathers diagnoses. In order to bring attention to this, I made a Facebook post that briefly said that I was being tested for cancer. This is the post: <Hey guys, I just wanted to give everyone an update on my health. Recently I’ve had some […]

On August 22, I boarded a red eye back to Austin feeling almost as ambivalent and lost as I did as an incoming freshman. This summer, I worked at the camp I attended for seven years as a child, and spent my days backpacking in Yosemite, going mountain biking, and working with my favorite people […]