Relay for life was really cool. I didn't have a ride, so I walked to school and arrived at about 5:45. I registered, got a shirt, and went to buy drinks. Our room was awesome, I brought a bunch of movies and we watched V for Vendetta, played cards, ate pizza, chips, drank Barg's...

We started running at about 7:00. It was really wet outside, so for the first three hours we ran indoors. Our team was scheduled, so every 2 hours, a pair would run for 30 minutes, so we always had 2 people on the track. Battle of the Bands was playing too. Many bands were really good, but the one that stood out was the teacher band, which included the music teachers and various other teachers that could play instruments. They played a number of songs, the last one ending with Mr. Vespa playing a 3-minute long drum solo. It was incredible.

The run was amazing too. Outside, when night fell, the stars were shining down on us, and the track was laid out in the parking lot, encircling the word 'HOPE.' We ran around, looking at all the luminaries. It was inspiring to see all the lights, because each represented a wish for the future. My team was really supportive, and we took so many pictures, especially of me doing 'Ninja' things.

There were activities like tug o' war and a dance, along with games, movies and a lot of other fun things to do. But I think the best part of the night is when a bunch of us got sleeping bags and lay under the stars in the middle of the E in HOPE. I actually fell asleep... Marco, Andrea, Maria, Katrina, Angelo, Basil, Westley, Alex, Leanne and Quynh were there too. It was so cool, just to look up and to be with our friends.

Running, watching movies, eating snacks and having a good time, I was still saddened because so many people were lost to cancer, or affected by it. But so many people are running for someone, and even if the fight is lost, we can learn from our loss and have hope for the future.