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INSIDE MOREHOUSE, OCTOBER 2013
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Inside
MOREHOUSE
Director of Public Relations
Toni O’Neal Mosley
tmosley@morehouse.edu
Executive Editor
Vickie G. Hampton
vhampton@morehouse.edu
Editor
Add Seymour Jr.
aseymour@morehouse.edu
Calendar Editor
Add Seymour Jr.
aseymour@morehouse.edu
Photographers
Vickie G. Hampton
Philip McCullom
Add Seymour Jr.
Sinead Younge
Graphic Design
Glennon Design Group
Web Services
Kara Walker
Administrative Assistant
Minnie L. Jackson
Inside Morehouse
is published during
the academic year by
Morehouse College,
Office of Communications.
Opinions expressed in Inside
Morehouse are those of
the authors, not
necessarily of the College.
MY WORD
My Journey to Wholeness
“Be more afraid of the consequences
than the fear of possibility.’’
Toni O’Neal Mosley
W hen I was first
diagnosed with breast
cancer in February of
this year, my first thought was,
“Why me?” There is no history
of breast cancer (or any cancer
for that matter) on either side
of my immediate family for
at least three generations. My
frame of reference, however,
was very up-close and personal.
I had two very dear girlfriends
die before the age of 45 due
to complications from breast
cancer. The one thing I knew
about both cases is that they
ignored the signs and delayed
getting medical attention.
Knowing that one bit of
information saved me. Self
exams are so important. I
discovered lumps in my left
breast that a mammogram
several months earlier had not ;
detected. And immediate follow
up with your doctor is critical.
Encourage your friends, family
members and co-workers to
follow a routine schedule of
self-exams. If you don’t know
your body and pay attention to
its warnings, you are tempting
fate. Be more afraid of the
consequences than the fear of
possibility.
In the middle of one of my
darkest moments after doctors
told me my course of treatment,
there was something a friend
said he told me when he faced
multiple organ transplants many
years ago: “I don’t know nothing
about dying, so tell me how
we’re gonna’ fix this.” That was
like hearing an angel’s voice, so
I closed the pity party down and
started my journey to wholeness.
I had many more moments
of uncertainty and concerns.
Even now, every now and
then, a new one crops up. One
of my biggest concerns was I
1 didn’t want to be seen as a sick
person, but rather as a person
dealing with a serious illness.
Because of the critical nature
of the job I perform, I wanted
to stay connected with work as
much as possible, so I chose to
work through treatment. This
requires a lot of planning ahead,
and support, but it gave me
a sense of control and let my
president and other colleagues
know how seriously I take my
responsibilities and personal
accountability.
Support is so critical to
cancer patients. Your life is
thrown into a tailspin of sorts
and you need help. My role
is usually the encourager, the
supporter, the cheerleader.
I was very humbled and so
appreciative of the types of
support that came to me. The
Morehouse communications
team came through with
personal support (constant
words of encouragement,
flowers, hospital visits and
more), as well as professional
support (they said they had my
back no matter what). That was
priceless.
Never underestimate how
much a meal, a card or a text
message can mean to someone.
One friend delivered food
every week that I was home
recuperating from surgery. My
children were fed!
But my journey to wholeness
is not over. Today I am cancer-
free! I still have medications to
take daily, weekly physical therapy
sessions and, of course, a diet
and exercise regimen. My energy
level has not caught up with my
enthusiasm to get back into the
full day-to-day, so I am trying to
follow my doctor’s orders and
work an abbreviated schedule. I
have enlisted colleagues to keep
me in check, so I get cards and
emails vehemently telling me to
go home!
This is a permanent life
change, and other life stuff does
not stop for cancer. But this is
not a death sentence. My new
mantra is stay strong, keep the
faith and keep breathing. ■
Toni O’Neal Mosley is the director
of public relations in the Office of
Communications.
From Zombies to Zumba: Movement Is Life
Kara Fenner Walker
((■ n ovement is life. ”
Ilf I A few months ago,
I some friends and I
went to see the movie, “World
War Z”, starring Brad Pitt. If I’d
known that the movie was about
a calamitous virus that caused
human beings to become rage-
stalking predators, I probably
would have opted out.
My personal policy has always
been to avoid movies, television
shows, even music that might
cause me to have in-living-color
nightmares. However, there’s a
scene in the movie where Brad
Pitt’s character tries to convince
a family, who had yet to be
discovered by zombies, to go with
him and his family to a safer place.
“Movement is life,” he said.
After leaving the theater
and ever since, that scene has
often come to mind as it relates
to my own life, as well as my
observations about humanity-
—period. Movement IS life.
Literally and metaphorically.
When I started taking Zumba
earlier this year, I saw first-hand
how the dance moves that I and
my fellow “booty-shakers” learned
often left us smiling, laughing
and feeling more alive. Active.
Progressive. Ready to take on the
expectant world.
However, when I failed to
sign up for the class this fall, I
fell into a pattern of sitting on
the sofa for an hour (or more)
after work watching mindless t.v.,
which left me feeling stagnant.
Tired. Even... lethargic.
Many of us know or have
heard the saying, “A body in
motion tends to stay in motion.
While a body at rest tends to
stay at rest.” I want to amend
that and say that a life in motion
tends to stay in motion while a
life at rest tends to stay at rest.
Or even decline.
The older I get, the more
I realize the importance of
conducting holistic self-assessments.
Where am I personally and
professionally? Are my relationships
evolving, maturing, progressing?
Am I growing as a professional in
my current position? Am I actively
engaging the world around me by
getting involved in the ebb and flow
of life? If the answer is ever “no,” I
come to the radical conclusion that
I am not only denying myself the
experience of a full life, but I am
actually killing myself slowly.
“Get busy living or get
busy dying.” If you don’t know
what movie that famous line is
from, then I have one word for
you. Google.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe
there is a time to be still, but only
to gain perspective and maybe even
strategize about my next move.
The good neWs is that as
long as I’m still breathing, I can
pick up the proverbial snow
globe in any particular area of
my life and shake things up.
Sign up for Zumba and “Feel
This Moment” with Pitbull and
Christina Aguilera. Plan my next
(ad)venture (I’ve always wanted
to go to Italy). Write that novel
one chapter at a time. Take a
guitar class. A computer class.
A cooking class? That couldn’t
hurt. Whatever it is, wherever I
am, I refuse to be stationary. ■
Kara Fenner Walker is Web
manager in the Office of
Communications..