Melanie Mazanec
Melanie studied at the Oberlin Conservatory. In the summer of 2012 she is riding with a group of college students on a 70 day, 4000+ mile bike ride from Baltimore to Seattle.
What is your connection with the cancer community?
During my freshman year in high school and my cousin Marty's freshman year in college, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. I had always looked up to Marty. He was the cousin who would stick up for me when my plethora of older male cousins teased a little too much, the one who gave me a piggyback ride across a stream when I was afraid to cross it on my own, the one who excelled at visual art, the violin, academics, and sports. He was the one who introduced me to Calvin and Hobbes. When I got to my first high school French class, I remember the teacher asking hopefully if Marty was my older brother-- she pointed to a star on the wall showing that he had gotten a 5 on the AP exam. During his last year on earth, Marty gave me a million more reasons to look up to him. He refused to let cancer stop his partying, pranks, and enjoyment of life. Marty continued to play and perform on the electric violin with his band. When he later needed a cane to walk, he acquired some fairly ridiculous, over-the-top canes. Marty has taught me to value the time I have on earth, to seize the opportunities I am given, and to cherish the wonderful people that surround me. At Marty's funeral, the priest used the words "busy living" to describe him and charged our family with a goal to "get busy living" ourselves.
Why are you riding the 4K for Cancer?
My way of challenging myself to get busy living has been to see and do as much as I can. I have biked about 2,00 miles total through most of Belgium, parts of Spain, down the whole coast of California, and from Lincoln, New Hampshire to Erie, Pennsylvania. To me, biking is both the best way to see a piece of the world and to understand and connect with its inhabitants in a more intimate way than I otherwise might. I would also like to use the 4k as a way to try to pay forward the incredible love and kindness that was shown to my family during Marty's illness. I will never forget the kind words and caring gestures of my teachers, or that that my French teacher drove me home from school the day he passed away and later showed up with a framed picture. I remember classmates that I hardly knew hugging me and offering words of comfort. I remember neighbors coming to our house with food; I remember that my aunt and uncle's garage was stacked with food that people had brought. I remember that people traveled far and stood in a receiving line for hours just to comfort my family. We were extremely fortunate to have such a loving, supportive community. I can only hope to extend some of the same love and support to families and individuals currently struggling with cancer.
