“Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do.” – Pope John XXIII

In the two years since I heard the words, “you have cancer”, I have had my fair share of peaks and valleys on the ‘ol post diagnosis roller coaster. I won’t lie to you. A few of the lows have felt particularly low. There was the moment in the shower when I held the remnants of my hair in my hands; the moment when a fever of 102*F led to four days in a hospital isolation room; and the moment when my best friend told me she was worried I had become a depressed and negative person and cancer would become my only story. But, if you’ve read this blog for awhile, you’ve heard all of that before…

Surprisingly, my one way ticket into the Cancer Club has also come with its fair share of unexpected perks. Over the last six weeks, I have had the opportunity to travel around North America and meet with inspiring people in the not for profit world. Leaders and support staff at organizations like Young Survivor Coalition, Rethink Breast Cancer, I[2]Y, Facing Cancer, First Descents, CLOUDHealth, Talk About Health, Cinco Vidas, and LIVESTRONG provide much needed support to survivors and care givers as they navigate through their unique cancer journeys and I am so lucky to have connected with each of them.

As I work towards my Big Hairy Audacious Dream to travel around the world and volunteer on almost every continent, so many people all over the USA and Canada have taken time out of their hectic schedules to hear my story, share some advice, and support me with this Adventure of Hope. (On a side note, what do you think of this as a name for the not for profit – Adventures of Hope? I’m trying it on for size and would love your feedback.)

As I set off on my next adventure, I have no idea how it will come together and it will most likely turn out differently than I imagine. I’m sure in many ways, I will have to run from Plan A right through to Plan Q. There is plenty I don’t know about traveling the world or starting a not for profit. But, here’s what I DO know for sure…

I know my success will depend largely on the support of the people around me and on my decision to choose hope. To choose to believe that a new dream for my life is possible. To decide my experience with cancer will only be a chapter in the story of my life.

As the quote at the beginning of this post says: It’s not about your past failures; it’s about your hopes and dreams and your unfulfilled potential. What are your hopes? What do you dream about when you think about your life on the other side of whatever struggle you might be facing? What is your unfulfilled potential?

Maybe you don’t want to sell your possessions and set off on a trip around the world (I don’t blame you). But, we all have the chance to impact even just one other person. We all have the opportunity to choose hope. To support each other. To challenge the status quo. To choose to grow and evolve for as long as we have left on this earth. And, to feel gratitude for the people who join us on this journey.

So Thank You for your support and for the impact your stories and comments continue to make on me.