A very close friend of mine, Sierra, was recently diagnosed with a form of cancer called Lymphoma. With any horrible news there was a whole series of intense emotions; first, the obvious overwhelming sadness and fear, then anger towards the universe while questioning why such things would happen to some of the most undeserving people, but then, most recently, I've been focusing on the power of positivity and being there for each other.
Sierra is honestly one of the strongest, most positive/level headed people I know and with knowing this I've barely questioned the fact that everything will work out fine. If you know me you know that I truly believe in the power of positive thinking - the simple concept of believing in the best possible results will attract them; that surrounding yourself with like-minded people can be a miracle cure, and that life is simply too short to dwell on the inevitable downsides of life.
Because Sierra's cancer was diagnosed as aggressive, but luckily still at stage 1 (WOO!), the recovery process started very quickly. Within two weeks of diagnosis Sierra had already begun chemotherapy and with that quickly comes the difficult reality that she will lose her hair. With Sierra being the person she is, she decided to gather some of her closest friends and have a little sun-shine-filled shin-dig to bring together our smiles and ease what is obviously something that is hard for anyone to do.
So, Sunday came and a group of us got together to provide laughs, support, and some heads of hair to accompany her through the process.
Her brother, Eric, and good friend Sara starting the process...
And then came the chaos. We all went a little crazy on each other...
And the mid-results...
(I swear these girls can pull off any look...)
And Brandon finishing the process...
And here is as far as we could get with the quality of shaver we had. (There was definitely some clean up work done afterwards)
So, with the support from friends and some simple positivity we were able to make what could have been a difficult afternoon into an afternoon of laughter, smiles, and sunshine.
With the situations that have been arising lately and specifically spending this particular afternoon with Sierra I've been reminded of the importance of friendship and having love between one another. Not long ago I found myself dwelling on the fact that I could have potentially spent more time shooting or 'being productive' rather than out being social, but now I've realized that I should never regret the amount of nights I've spent out with my friends, the days wandering the city or enjoying music with friends, or the small things like watching pointless movies with roommates. I truly believe that friendships and love between one another is the most important thing in the world and our time spent Sunday was a true testament to that.
To my friends - I love each and every one of you. Even if we may have lost contact I swear I still feel the same towards you as the last time I saw you and can't wait for the next time we see each other.
To everyone else - go give someone a hug or something! Positive thinking is not only healthy for people in general, it also does wonders beyond what you may even realize.
Sierra, I love you and this B.S. will all be over before we know it. I'm so happy my singing brought us together all those years ago and am so grateful to have you in my life. You've always been such an inspiration to me and I can honestly say I would not be the person I am today without your support, life lessons, and open ears. I can't wait until we share a drink with all of this behind us but, until then, i'll provide the puzzles.