I am a nineteen year old Egyptian female that looks Hispanic. My mother says she went through the worst couple hours of her life giving birth to me, and I always joke, “No pain, no gain!” My life is complicated in the sense of where we have lived. Besides that, I have it easy. After I was born in San Antonio, TX and asked to partake in one of those diaper commercials with the super cute naked babies, we immediately moved to Egypt. Unfortunate to say, I did not receive my glory naked baby days. Instead, I was rocking it up in Egypt, visiting pyramids, looking at dead mummies, and swimming in the Red and Mediterranean Seas. I mean, I had a normal childhood; no big deal. I got ran over one time by a bike in Giza; I was stung by a jellyfish swimming in the Mediterranean. I cracked my brother’s head open playing soccer, and my family won the lottery for an opportunity to move to America. Normal childhood. After we had moved to the United States, we continued to move around, from San Antonio, TX to Lexington, KY and back again to Texas to a lovely city named Greenville. Population: way too small for me. For this reason, I have learned that I enjoy the big city life! I love walking at night and looking at the moon and the stars. My favorite season is fall so I can crunch all the brown leaves that have fallen onto the ground. I love chocolate covered strawberries, rhubarb anything (pie, tart, cake...), salt and vinegar pringles, orange soda, and water! I love my family, friends, and my saxophone. I like curly hair, the color red-orange, the number 51, music, movies, books, and people, and unlike most, I actually like school and staying organized.

I spent countless hours looking for an inspiring story about my decision to become a Texas 4000 rider. Why would I want to waste a whole summer biking? Why would I want to go through Hell my entire sophomore year training and meeting to raise money for a cause that doesn’t directly affect me? Most of all, I spent countless hours trying to find an inspiring story about a close family member that has had cancer. I spent all of this time contemplating what possible motivation I have, and I realized that I’m not like the majority of the riders that have been chosen in previous years. Honestly, the only close family members I have are my mother, my father, and my brother. I haven’t seen some of my family members in seven years and most of them in twelve. To them, they still remember me when I was ‘ya-y high,’ and honestly, neither my mother, my father, nor my brother have cancer. Seriously, this is one of the scariest things I have ever heard of, but when I think about the difference this ride makes and all that goes into it, the scary part goes away. Anxiousness, apprehension, excitement, and hope take its place. The time, the commitment, the effort, the lives of the people touched, the experience, the hard work and dedication: all of this; this is what’s truly inspiring. This is what makes a difference. Becoming a rider for Texas 4000 isn’t a waste of a summer. It is an honor and a privilege. Becoming a rider for Texas 4000 doesn’t send me through Hell my sophomore year. It will only make me stronger. Only then will I realize how hard it is for people with cancer to wake up every morning, put on a smile, and live life as if everything were still ok. Their smile is not for themselves, but for others. Even this strength amazes me. How can they be strong enough for others with everything their body is going through? Only then will I realize what true strength entails. The cliché “I want to make a difference in the world” amounts to nothing when I think about how much I want to become a rider. I do want to make a difference in the world, in somebody’s world, and I am starting with this ride.