Hello Everyone! My name is Chris Welch and I am a junior here at MIT majoring in Mechanical & Ocean Engineering. This past semester for me was like any other person's semester: staying up late to work on pests due every other day of the week, going out into Boston on weekends to unwind with friends, crossing Mass Ave. to the student center to sneak in meals between classes...but one morning, my normal routine was interrupted by a phone call from my doctor saying that I had lymphoma, cancer of the lymphocytes. "Cancer" can be a downright terrifying word when you know nothing about it, and especially when you've just found out that you have to fight it for your life, like I am doing right now. It is a battle I fight every day and every night that only gets harder until it's over. But when it's over, I will have won, because that is the only option I have. Just as MIT has taught me, sometimes quitting just isn't an option and you can't take a break until you're done; this is my all-nighter. But the night is darkest before the dawn, and I can see the light. There is only one path I have to take, and it is illuminated by the radiant support I have received from my doctors, family, friends, and even strangers. Without them, I would be blind. With them, I have gained a perspective greater than any I had ever had on my own. The sense of community, comfort, and purpose fostered by those who have reached out to me is indescribably empowering, and it is a feeling that I could not keep all to myself. This instillment of hope should be shared with every single person who is facing a battle similar to my own. I am writing to you to tell you that I am still the same Chris Welch, class of 2013. You might not see me in line at Verde's taking a break from studying 2.016 with the Marine Robotics Team, you might not hear me on the roof of PBE practicing songs to play for my campers at next year's FLP, but I will be there in the hearts of every person who has gotten together to support St. Baldrick's, because it isn't cancer that has defined who I am, it is the people who have reminded me since my diagnosis that I am still me, I've still got a life to live, and together, we fight.