A dear friend....

 A little over a year ago I (Paloma)  had the pleasure of meeting one of the sweetest, funniest, kindest, and very special girls around. I remember all of us were a tad bit nervous on our first day of training for Kids Artistic Revue. We all went around and did the whole ackward "hi, nice to meet you" salutations and small talked our way through the day thinking to ourselves if we were really cut out to survive a season working for KAR. Her name is Marissa Parks, and little did I know we would end up spending A LOT of time together for the next 6 months...Marissa has a smile that puts mine to shame, not to mention her eyes that have this glow of joy in them EVERY single day despite the hour of day or her mood. She is truly an amazing person and there are many reasons for her amazingness not just one. For those of you who don't know what working for KAR is like, it was basically a weekend job where we would put on dance competitions all over the United States and work over 13 hours days,and somehow survived doing it. The only reason we all survived our work weekends was because of the people we worked with. We had an amazing team of people and thank God for Marissa being a part of mine. Marissa is from Georgia so we would always meet up at the airport of our competition destination. Even though we most likely worked together the weekend before, we always greeted eachother at the airports with a yelp of glee, a fast run towards eachother, finished by the biggest hug! Despite having absolutely no energy and being exhausted from traveling, I always somehow managed to get the energy I needed for my initial Hellos with Marissa....She was THAT special and made me THAT happy to see her everytime despite of the state we were in. Marissa and I also had the luxury of sharing rooms most of the time, and she was the best roomie ever. We talked about everything when we weren't passed out from exhaustion, we stayed up watching tv when we couldn't sleep, we occasionally went out together (when I wasn't such a party pooper), and we laughed a lot together because we were just a couple of dweebs trying to make the best out every situation. I write these things about Marissa because I want everyone to get an idea of what a bundle of joy and sillyness this girl is. She loves life and loves people, and because of this she has the biggest TRUE fan base of people I know. She would do ANYTHING for anyone and this is something I truly admire in her. She brought me candy every time I thought I was going to lose it, and she joked with me on the walkie talkies everytime I was about to slit my wrists from hearing another lyrical preformance. She was one of the main reasons I survived being away from home every weekend, she even made it worth it. Marissa, you are great and I love you to death...You already know this. The purpose of this note is not to worship the ground Marissa walks on, even though I've spent the past 20 minutes doing so, but to raise awareness and support for her on this day and many more to come. You see...Marissa recently found out that she has a brain tumor. Unfortunately, it also happens to be a malignant brain tumor. When Marissa told me my first reaction was anger, then sadness....In the midst of asking God "why her?" and trying to make sense of everything, I realized that this whole situation is bigger than Marissa and is bigger than anything we will ever know. God has a plan for Marissa and He has been holding her hand throughout this process, and because of this Marissa is in great spirits, optimistic, and inspiring beyond words. I can't even begin to describe how her journey has affected me and everyone around her...She is an angel in my life and for everyone who knows her. Marissa started Chemo/Radiation yesterday and will continue to go to the hospital every day for the next 6 weeks for treatment. She has this in the bag, and is ready to fight with all her might just like we all are right beside her despite where we are in the world. I ask you to join this fight....pray for Marissa and for her family, pray for strength and pray that whatever God's plan might be for Marissa's life that it be one of great purpose and one that Marissa can understand and rejoice in. She is going to tackle this and if anyone in this world can do it, SHE can! There are many ways that you can help Marissa and be a part of this battle with her....through words of encouragement, prayer, participating in fundraisers for brain tumor research...ANYTHING!!! This is the story of one person who is going through something thousands go through every year. It's a wake up call to all of us that life is fragile and that we can't take anything for granted. Live your life always like it's a precious gift...because that is what it is. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE those around you until you have nothing left to give. I love you Marissa Parks and want to thank you for being the strong, beautiful, inspirational person you are.

If you want to read about Marissa's journey check out her blog at http://maparks.blogspot.com/