This is Survivorship

Hey everyone, Sierra here - wanted to flush out a bit more of my experience before this really takes off.

The nuts & bolts

With my field hockey teammates (far right) pre-diagnosis.

Currently playing: Come As You Are - Nirvana

My diagnosis: Hodgkin lymphoma Stage 2-4b
Age at diagnosis: 19 years old
Main place of treatment: Virginia Cancer Institute or V.C.I. in Richmond, VA

Age now: 28 years old
Current location: Brooklyn, NY

This is what I’m here for while I’m here.

Blogging: Why now

Alright, so, this whole blogging thing - why am I just starting to do this? Every year on my cancerversary (Will have a whole separate blog on this to come. Sit tight.), I choose to do something I’ve never done before. Heading into year 8 had me stumped. In years previous, I’ve done various things from getting a tattoo, to traveling abroad, to running a marathon, to ‘floating,’ to fundraising, to dying my hair, etc. This commitment has made me, no matter what, continue to experience life from a place of curiosity, sometimes ignorance, and definitely keeps me on my toes. Blogging has been on my radar, and due to perfect connections or simply the stars aligning—bippity boppity, BOOP! Here we are.

What you can expect from me

Variety

I have a lot of interests and connections. Expect it. Keep up. Or don’t, AND know that I’m open to discussing more of the topics I share, be it to get more information or explain more of my experience!

Reflection vs. reality

I’m almost ten years in remission, which will be almost half of the time I was alive prior to diagnosis. Essentially - there was pre-cancer, there was during cancer, those difficult initial years that followed, and then there’s this next phase of ‘normalcy’ or so they say. I like to compare and contrast. (Might have to make a language glossary to keep track of these phases and what not.)

Social media

I’m a human who grew up with, and on, internet platforms that connected people from all over the world. While it can be a huge waste of time (For me? Dance videos on Youtube. All day, which might be the perfect break from real life for you in that moment), this tool has the power to connect us. I’ll speak to my many experiences here and know that I’m down to connect beyond this platform.

So, there you have it! A bit of this, a bit of that. There will be dark humor, uncanny positivity, and there will be GIF’s / pictures / and movie quote references. This is survivorship. Each person has their own strengths, weaknesses, and journeys that dwell under this filter.

Respect them. Hear them. And maybe, you can learn from them.

Here we go, off into the unknown!

I’ll be checking in here and feel free to find me on Instagram.

Toodles,

Sierra