The journey is not over. :)

Wow. Yes, wow sums up how I'm feeling right now. What a ride! Literally and figuratively. I've definitely had my ups and downs, but this summer has been so good, so so good. Man, I wish I were an English major right now so that I could better convey how I'm feeling and what I'm thinking. There's just so much to say. I guess it's a good thing that I have a 2.5 hour flight ahead of me.

I remember sitting on the sliders on the BC plaza with Jenny Denton during that last big week of exams and papers before finals. She had a paper due later that day, and I was freaking out about having to drop a class. I didn't know what I wanted to do for the summer, and I had to get back to my internship offer soon. I was not excited about the opportunity even though I should have been elated to have received a paid internship close to home. I was going to be receiving a grant from ExxonMobil so that I could work at a nonprofit. This would be my third time receiving the grant, and I knew that it was going to be a rewarding experience but also stressful. After such a crazy spring semester, I just didn't think I was ready to add more unnecessary stress to my life.

Jenny started talking about Race Across America and how there's a college ride across America for affordable housing, Bike and Build. We also just started talking about life, but the idea of biking for a good cause and across America really resonated with me. Later that evening when I should have been doing a math problem set or something productive, I started researching Bike and Build. Unfortunately all the rides across America were full and I would have had to apply in January- it was now mid-April. Struggle. They had a shorter 2 week ride through the Virginia and Maryland area, and there were still spots available. Perfect! Me being me also had planned on taking a bio 25 equivalent at a university close to home. I immediately began to figure out how in the world I could take summer school, accept the internship, bike for Bike and Build, and staff PWILD. I made a fancy little Microsoft word calendar with my potential summer schedule. The bike ride fell a week earlier than I would have liked, but I still was able to squeeze everything in. I even had open blocks for work at Learning Express and/or J. Crew. I eprinted it and emailed it to my parents. I sat back and proudly looked at my handiwork. I think I was more excited that I could fit everything in and not really looking at what I was actually about to do.

My parents know me and how stubborn I am, so they just let me do my thing. They said it was a lot, and there was a no need for me to do it all...but they knew they couldn't do anything to stop me. The one obstacle was to get the green light from my internship coordinator. Well, that's where my plan fell apart, and it was probably a good thing. She was fine with everything except for the bike ride because it fell a week before the internship was supposed to end. I was planning on going back to the internship for a week after my little bike ride, but I completely understand that it would have been choppy and awkward. Well poop. So much for my calendar. I decided to sleep on it to see if I really was willing to give up my bike ride.

The next day I realized it was silly to give up something I wanted for something I didn't even want. I felt like I should do the internship, not want to do the internship. Struggle. So I decided to go back to the drawing board. I went back to google just to see if there were any other biking options. After a little research, I found the Big Ride across America for the American Lung Association. Perfect! I called the organization, and there were still spaces available! The fundraising minimum was $6,000.

I immediately called my mom super excited about my find. I told her that I was just going to forget about the internship and bike all the way across America for the American Lung Association! My mom was not too receptive to the idea. I was turning down a paid internship so that I could fundraise from the same friend and family base that has already helped me raise over $12,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I could see where she was coming from and I also had that concern, but I was just so excited about this option that I knew I would find a way. As Coach O always used to say and Lucy reminded me of yesterday, "Motivated people find ways." Well, my mom told me to talk to my dad.

I called my dad, and I think he could hear the excitement in my voice. I pitched the plan a little differently and pointed out my concerns so that he would know that I've thought about it. One of which was the fact that I was turning down a summer salary. He responded that I have the rest of my life to work and not to worry about it. My summer salary is peanuts. I also pointed out the fundraising dilemma, but he was not concerned. He knew his family would donate, and he was more than happy to help close the gap. He knew I would do my best to raise the money. I told him mom didn't like the idea, but he said he'd talk to her.

Before I knew it, everyone was on board with the plan. I was going to raise money for lung disease research and clean air legislation AND bike across America! The only part of my summer that was completely cut out was my internship. It was actually such a relief to turn it down. I immediately knew I had made the right decision.

Fast forward to the summer. I worked at Learning Express and J. Crew. I started fundraising, which was actually very time consuming. I sent out lots of letters, which all had to be fed individually into the printer and then folded and ribboned. I liked doing it, but it just took time. I also went around trying to organize fundraisers and/or get donations from local businesses. And, I spent a lot of time organizing and getting ready for my garage sale fundraiser. I took intro to biology at Dallas Baptist University throughout June, Monday to Thursday from 8 to 12. Everything was working out great! I even had time to hang out with friends, and I made a trip to Norman for Lara's birthday. I attempted to train for the bike ride, but I was not too successful. I was pretty good about going on the 30 mile Sunday social ride at the Mad Duck, the local bike shop. Every now and then I would sit on my trainer in front of the TV to watch a movie, Glee, or The Bachelorette, but I usually didn't last for more than an hour and 15 minutes because my butt would get sore. Haha, struggle. Don't ask me how I was planning on biking for 4 to 7 hours a day. I guess I figured I would just deal with it when I had to, and I did. It actually wasn't too bad, especially after I got a new seat in Rapid City.

During that period of time, I remember having such a sense of excitement for my journey ahead. Of course I had my moments, but all in all, I was on the moon! I want to feel that way about life all the time. I know in my first post I mentioned that I was going to try and use the biking time to think about what I want to do with my life, and I think I've figured it out. And thinking about it now makes me as excited as I was when I was getting ready for the bike ride. I might even be more excited! I know it's going to be a lot of work, but fundraising was a lot of work too. However, knowing that the money was going to be helping others, and I was going to get to do something that I love...it just made everything a-ok. It has really made me realize how much math is not for me. I don't look forward to problem sets, and I'm just not excited about it. However, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? It has been good for me to challenge myself and stretch/push my limits. Plus, it's kind of cool to say that you know how to prove that 3 is an odd number and not just because it's not evenly divisible by 2. As far as environmental science goes, I really enjoy those classes and find them interesting. It has helped me become more aware of the consequences of my actions and made me a better citizen of the world. I think it's neat to study phthalates and the effects on human health, but I'm more interested in the person, not the chemical.

So after all that rambling, here is my new plan. I want to become a childhood obesity specialist, DO. Yes, that means I'm becoming pre-med my senior year. I haven't taken any biology classes except for the class this summer. Haha. Clearly this plan is not fully baked, but it just feels right. I get to combine everything that I love- helping people, working with kids, and focus on health, nutrition, and exercise. Childhood obesity is rising at an alarming rate. I don't actually have any statistics, but just walk into any elementary school or McDonalds play place. Eating right and playing outdoors should be a prize, not a punishment. Too much processed foods and TV. Haha, I was telling my mom that I could start a kids triathlon club at my clinic! She laughed. Yeah, throw them in a pool, put them on a bike, and make them run?! I joked that they would figure out how to swim; they could use training wheels if necessary; and then they just need to keep moving their legs. They'll all be rockstars!

In my college application essay, I wrote about wanting to become a biomedical engineer and wanting to do something where I can help others. I was open to the option of pre-med, and I took first semester of organic chemistry. After a less than optimal experience, I decided pre-med wasn't for me. The kind of ironic part is that a medical problem was what made that semester so difficult for me. I was having killer headaches, but I attributed them to stress, lack of sleep, too much caffeine, not enough caffeine, tight headbands, anything. Well, it turns out that I had a large cyst lodged between the two lobes of my pituitary gland, and it grown so large that it was putting pressure on my optic nerve. Struggle. Well, I didn't know it at the time, and I just chugged my way through organic chemistry and my other classes.

I continued my summer like normal or rather like Suzanne. I was interning at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the Team in Training department, which is the nation's largest endurance training program and raises money for the LLS. I was a three time alum and had participated in King's Trail triathlon in Maui, St. Anthony's triathlon in St. Petersburg, and CapTex triathlon in Austin. I was also taking linear algebra at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. That class is actually one of the reasons I decided to be a math major. I already had math classes from the engineering curriculum, and this class put me one more step closer. I loved math in high school. How much different could it be in college? Haha, whoops.

I took 2 weeks off from my internship to go to the Pan-American Junior Select Triathlon Development Camp in San Antonio. Throughout the camp, my headaches and fatigue persisted. On my 19th birthday, the camp went to Six Flags, and the jolts from the roller coasters were unbearable. I called my mom crying that night from the pain. She kept telling me to go see a doctor, but I'm just not a fan of putting medicine in my body. I kept hoping and praying that it would go away. Unfortunately, over the summer, I didn't have the same excuses that I would tell myself during the school year. The next week I went to St. Lucia with Adriana, a good friend from school. We would run on the treadmill in the morning before going to lay out in the sun. It got to the point where I was just so dizzy and couldn't run for more than 5 minutes. When I got home, the headaches just kept getting worse. I finally caved in and went to the doctor. A catscan and later MRI revealed a large cyst in my pituitary gland. I had also just started working at J. Crew, and I was helping open a new store at the Dallas Galleria. My mom called me while I was unpacking a box of hangers. My summer was put on hold. They were quick to determine it wasn't cancerous, which was a huge relief. After another roller coaster ride, I had surgery, and the cyst was removed.

As a result of the surgery, I have diabetes insipidus, which is where I don't produce the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin. I take a synthetic one so that I can retain water. Fast forward back to this bike ride. I was having issues right before I left for the bike ride, so I went to an endocrinologist and had all my blood work checked. Everything looked fine, and I was to continue with my same dosage of medicine. Also, I was to drink like a normal person and not drink excessively to compensate- there was no need to.

I use a nasal spray, so it's probably hard for each spray to be the exact same dose. Also, my dosage is decided basically by me. I usually take 3 sprays a day, but there are days when I only take 2. At school, I take a spray in the morning and carry my medicine with me in my backpack. If I start feeling extremely thirsty and have to pee every 5 minutes, then I take another spray. This can happen anytime between 2 until right before I go to bed. Thus, there are days when I only take 2 sprays. During this trip, I took the medicine like Tylenol. I took one spray every 8 hours whether I felt like I needed it or not. I guess that was not a good strategy. I had too much synthetic water retention hormone in me, and my abdomen and lungs started to fill up with water...and then I'm in the ER. The ironic part is that I thought I was dehydrated from the day before at Cedar Point amusement park. I also remember standing in line and thinking what a great milestone this amusement park represented. The last time I was at an amusement park kind of marked the end of my triathlon career. Being at an amusement park on my way across the country by bike was a great start to getting back into triathlons post surgery, where the recovery took much longer than I had anticipated. I did get to bike across 2/3 of America, so it is still kind of a milestone. But, I didn't quite think I would be in the ER the next day because of a complication from my surgery. It's funny how things work. I guess I need to stay away from amusement parks. They're bad news bears.

Per request of the doctors and to preserve my dad's black hair, I have decided not to go backpacking. He was talking about having to find a helicopter to come find me, and then I was picturing Chelsea running to the top of a hill to find cell phone service. Then I would be hunched over fumbling with a compass and map trying to find my coordinates. Oh, what a struggle. I was talking with my mom about it, and she said that my dad would probably also send out a search and rescue team...and he would form his own search and rescue team with my two dogs, Jackie and Berkley. "Go! Go get her! Go get Suzanne!" The dogs wouldn't move. "Come on! Go find Suzanne!" The dogs still wouldn't move. "Why don't you listen to me?" Haha, that's probably only funny to me and my family, but I can just picture it. My dad is so cute. He's seriously the best guy EVER! I wouldn't trade him for the world. Even the nurse noticed how cute he is when he gave her the anti-scarring bandaids he got for me. She ended up just reading the box like I could have, but he thought a nurse would know better. And right before he left me at the hospital, he went to the gift shop and got me an assortment of chocolate because I was in a grumpy mood. I was bummed that I wasn't discharged and stuck for another night. He's such a good guy. And my mother is wonderful as well. I don't know what I did to be so lucky.

Anyway, I think this entry is definitely long enough and enough of a ramble. We are about to land, so I have to turn this off. I think I'm done blogging for a while. My plans until school starts are still up in the air. I'm doing a triathlon on Sunday, and I want to bike to Austin. I probably should shadow a DO to make sure my plan is as exciting as I think it is. I also need to make sure it's possible to become premed. I'm pretty sure it is. I might have to drop a major, but I might not. I already adjusted my schedule and enrolled in an English class! :)

Well, again, all I can say is WOW. This has been quite the summer so far. I love it. :)

Stay tuned for my future attempt to bike across America! This was just a warm up.
Who wants to come with me?