As October breezes in, we find ourselves thinking about what lies ahead. Football games, early morning coffee, and even the occasional pumpkin patch. Having lost a parent to Breast Cancer, October always held a different meaning to me. I wondered how to make the world stopping thinking pink, but actually being pink. I believe we should stop just talking about making a change and actually start doing it.

  I learned from my mom to starting acting pink, you have to be mentally strong. There were days when I would come home and my mother would be bedridden for weeks, unable to move her defeated body from the sheets, but through this, she never lost her toughness. She never gave up. She kept pushing herself hard when she was feeling healthy, just to keep her body as strong as it could be when she wasn’t.

  Being pink means using time wisely. Stop postponing joy, and start to live in the now. How much longer do we all really have here? Seniors will be leaving these hallways forever in just a few months, and high school we know, will forever be referred to with a “when I was.” Time is trickling by, and every opportunity should be one you seize.

  Being pink means staying confident with yourself, inside and out. My mother had a closet full of wigs, and would love to dress up for every public outing, however her smile always outshined her outfit. You could tell she loved herself and that was all people could really see.

  Being pink isn’t about wearing pink at all, it’s about mental toughness. It’s about seizing every moment. It’s about loving yourself and the world around you. And it’s about remembering those who fought valiantly against this disease. So I challenge the world to stop thinking about this disease, but start honoring those who fought against it by acting as they do. By acting pink.