Run Team Kina, Achievement Unlocked (almost)!*
My uncle donated a boatload of money to my fundraising page. I mean, he’s always been a money-hoarder, so he can afford to do something pricey when he wants to, but I was still just…shocked. It made me cry. I don’t know…I’m not close with him, I guess mostly because he’s always lived far away, and we’d drifted apart long ago. But, there aren’t exactly very many of us….just me, my parents, him, and my two cousins, basically. And, it doesn’t seem my cousins are all too interested in being any closer with me. I pushed one of them away with the whole K fiasco (I had started talking to her after years and years of no communication), so, that was upsetting. But…that’s pretty much it; that’s basically my family.
On Saturday, I’m going to be able to tell Kina I’m only $64 away from my $500 goal, because she has a show in Philly that night. I technically have negative time to go out and do anything at this point since next week is going to be the week from hell, and I guarantee I’ll happen to have a full work day on Sunday with pet-sitting, because that’s just how it works, but I wouldn’t miss this for anything.
If it’s making me tear up just typing that right now, I’m not sure how I’m going to be when I can actually tell her in person, and see her reaction. $500…that’s 1/100th of the total $50,000 goal. That’s a pretty big chunk, considering it’s just me. I mean, it’s not just me…it’s the people who donated. It’s Tamara and her parents, and maybe some of her other family members, soon, who are also helping. But, I started this. I made a decision, and my decision led me to this point. I don’t know…when I think about it, it almost feels overwhelming. Even if it doesn’t seem like much to a lot of people, I’m just so happy I’ve accomplished this. I keep self-doubting myself, thinking, "oh, well, only this many people donated…it’s only that one of them donated so much that got me this close to the goal," but then I remind myself that that doesn’t really matter. Because of my initiative, those people donated what they did, and all that matters is that that much money is going to the LLS and going toward Kina’s goal. And, if I can’t tell her that I’ve made a lot of progress with training, which I still am struggling with, then I think the fundraising aspect makes up for that. I’m still trying. Finals week is going to be beyond brutal. It’s brutal now, and this is nothing compared that. Every day I can run, I do, though…even when I don’t get a chance because school is so up my ass, the next time that opens up, I take it. I start again. I’ve started back up again about 4 or 5 times, at this point. I’m not giving up, even if school or my lungs try to convince me otherwise. I mean, that’s something, right? I’ve never been as persistent about anything I’ve done for myself before. It makes me pretty excited for when the worst of this hell is over in a couple of weeks. I’ll be able to run every other day without having things due constantly to hold me back. If I do that, I’ll have a decent amount of time to improve before June rolls around. Speaking of which, it’s likely we’ll be running the American Cancer Society 5K at George Washington Bridge in NJ, but I’m still waiting on Tamara for confirmation. The prospect of actually being able to run 3+ miles by then seems crazy to me, right now, since I still am practically passing out by the end of two very slow 8-minute runs separated by 5 minutes of walking. I’m really going to try, though…. There’s also this thing called the Color Run I want to do in July in Philly. Someone posted about it on Facebook asking if anyone else would want to join them, and I was sold after checking the site out. It’s also a 5K, but they spray everyone with colors as you get to certain points along the way. It seems super fun! I think Tamara and a couple others would probably come along, too.
Time to work on some case study essays and study for tomorrow (aka final #2 out of 11)…..
*Edit: Oh, also, here’s a video from a benefit show Kina did online to raise money. I had bought a ticket (they were only $5) and was hoping to catch the last 30 min – 1 hr of it, but I ended up finishing with my Saturday class super late that day, so I missed it. I have no regrets contributing the extra money for the event, though, because….well, watch the last few minutes. The whole thing is just really touching. She is one of my most favorite people, ever. <3