It Begins

-"Often times in life, people look, but they don't see"

I've been meaning to sit down and start writing this blog for some time now, but I couldn't figure out how I wanted to present this story - until this morning. It's been almost 2 years since I was first diagnosed with Stage III metastatic testicular cancer, but to me it feels like time has been frozen. Living in Hong Kong at the time, I was your typical 24-year old finance professional: ambitious, hard-working, and focused solely on making money and getting ahead in life as fast as possible. Things looked pretty good at that point; but you know what they say (refer to quote above).

Sitting here today, I can hardly be described as your typical 26-year old. I've had my eyes opened in a way very few my age can understand. Over the past 23 months, I have experienced more mental and physical pain than most people will ever have to experience, thankfully. But this blog will not be a chronology of each treatment and my day-to-day activities as I feel like that would be meaningless. This blog will be about what I feel I have now seen about myself and about life.

I plan to reflect on the significant events, the turning points, the triumphs, tragedies and disappointments that have occurred since being diagnosed. These may be big events related to my treatments or my friends, or smaller moments in passing that may seem insignificant but have meant a lot to me. I believe that reflecting on the events of the past 2 years, given what I know today, gives me a unique perspective.

I have very specific goals for this blog. I believe that everything in this life happens for a reason, a reason that is never apparent to us at first but is something we come to realize later in life. I believe the reason I have been chosen to bear this burden is not to punish me with chemotherapy, stress and anxiety, because that would serve no purpose. I believe it is to teach me the value of life so that I can hopefully teach and inspire others to appreciate what they have. Here are my goals:

1) Fighting cancer has forever taught me the value of life and the importance of treasuring each moment, good or bad. I want to make sure that I pass this lesson on to the friends and family who have supported me. Thus far, I have done a decent job of keeping people informed about what I am going through, but I have yet to share what I have learned about life in an organized way. Inspiring people to improve the quality of their lives is my first goal.

2) I believe in God, and I consider myself to be religious. One thing I always reflect on is how my belief in God has impacted the course of my treatment. As I said above, I believe things happen for a reason, and I am 100% positive that the hand of God has opened doors for me along this battle. I would like to present examples of these moments throughout the blog. Whether you choose to believe in God or not, I hope the coincidences and examples I present leave you as amazed as they've left me.

3) I enjoy playing poker so i'm going to use it as an analogy for my 3rd goal. In life, as in poker, some players are dealt strong hands while others are dealt weak hands. That's the way it is. So if you've been dealt a strong hand, don't throw it away. Play that hand, play it wisely and play it happily. And if you've been dealt a weak hand, bluff.

4) Lastly, I want people to truly understand and appreciate the sacrifice made by my family over the past few years. While it's tough for me to take these treatments, it is even harder for someone who loves you to watch without being able to help in any way.

So those are my goals. As I said earlier, I plan to accomplish these by reflecting on the significant and meaningful events that have taken place in my life over the past few years. I have a few unique ideas of how I want to write these posts, but if you have any ideas, please feel free to share them with me. I welcome your input.

For those of you who choose to visit my blog, I hope that I am able to tell my story well enough so that you leave feeling inspired, thankful, and blessed.