Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

2 CO KUDOS INSIDE MOREHOUSE, OCTOBER 2013 Inside Morehouse is about the people who make up the Morehouse College community. To tell those stories, WE NEED YOU to send us your ideas, comments and thoughts, along with your news, information about your new books or publications and your commentary for sections like My Word. To send us your information, contact Inside Morehouse Editor Add Seymour Jr. at aseymour@morehouse.edu For up-to-the minute information about the College, go to www.morehouse.edu or visit Morehouse on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Tumblr. www.morehouse.edu Youm 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..