This year as I made my New Year's resolutions, I figured I should really work on some that I don't usually set every year (and then forget). So this year I decided on at least one that should be a little more natural for me than losing weight or cutting out fast food completely: donating more. Whether that be money, time, or materials doesn't matter, what matters is that I donate more. This is the one I have definitely kept up on, and it is the one that really makes me feel good. (Granted eliminating fast food and/or exercising more would probably make me feel better too...) Sadly, my resolution to exercise more lasted until about mid-February. What can I say, there's not much I find appealing about running for essentially no purpose?! I have always been more into direct competition that offers immediate results. Anyway, that's somewhat beside the point. The point is, this past Saturday I got the chance to do both donate AND exercise! What a novel idea.

Long story short, one of my best friends had her first child this past February. Through mandatory infant screening he was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. All of my friends and family have been trying to do whatever they can to help so when she and her husband called about walking for Cystic Fibrosis, I was hooked. So Saturday I headed to Sedgwick County Park to get my walk on. Once I got there, I was encouraged to see actual survivors of the disease and a couple hundred supporters. This is a genetic disease so funding always seems short; they really rely on donations. Being able to see products of where the money goes (one survivor was 33!) really showed me that there are greater things at work in the world. Overall, Saturday morning proved to be the key in taking my mind off paper after paper. A good "reality-check" is to do something for somebody else. Anyone who hasn't experienced this, I encourage you to find a little extra time (I know, time is precious around finals week!) and do some volunteering.