By Francesca Arminio

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing in a pool, or a lake, or even a puddle of water, the fascination you would feel when you dropped something into water and ripples began to emerge outwards from that point of origin?

To this day, that fascination has stuck with me, not regarding water, but regarding life.  Upon starting my position at the 15-40 Connection, I did not understand the magnitude of what I was getting myself into.  I am the Social Media intern, Facebook, Twitter, blah blah blah, and yeah, that is part of it, but, after talking to my favorite Professor, everything changed.

You may not realize it but cancer has probably touched everyone you know in one way or another.  Upon telling Professor Murphy about what I am planning to do to for the 15-40 Connection to raise awareness he informed me that both of his daughters had been diagnosed and treated for Melanoma.  This opened my eyes.  By the simple act of talking to one person I saw firsthand how large a roll cancer, especially in the 15-40 age group plays.  I began to tell everyone I could, friends, family, and professors, anyone who will listen to me.  I became that point of origin, rippling outwards, telling people about this amazing organization and incredible mission.

Be your own ripple, start a chain reaction.  It’s time to get people talking about young adult cancer and early detection.  You may not think you have personally touched someone but because of this ripple, someone you talk to may talk to someone else, who then talks to someone else who looks at our website and decides to get checked.