Day one of Survivor Conference 2012 brought together a lot of old friends, inspired people to make new ones, and took it pretty easy on us, really.
The Conference started with dinner. The Radisson Admiral did an amazing job accommodating our dietary restrictions and pulled off a mean meal of chicken, beef, salads, spring rolls, dumplings, beautiful desserts, and more. While the food was good, the best part about dinner was seeing how people were interacting and reconnecting.
Tracy even told me the conversation around her table was not one she ever expected to have, and would never expect to have again in any other scenario. You guys did a good job at warming her up for the rest of the weekend!
Geoff spent a few minutes addressing the group before opening night got underway. He shared a quote from Leo Buscaglia that says, “The person who risks nothing, has nothing, and is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.”
That was a great message in a room of over 100 people as everyone was testing the waters to see how they would feel over the next few days.
After dinner, we played some icebreakers to help people learn a little more about each other. Shali led games such as “Stand up if” and group trivia.
“Stand up if” is exactly what it sounds like. Shali would ask questions—some cancer-related, some not—and people would stand up if it applied to them. Questions such as “Stand up if you’re a supporter,” “Stand up if you are doing something to help young adults with cancer” solicited big rounds of applause, which really made the game more powerful than we expected.
The night ended fairly early since travel times and time zones had an impact on energy levels, and we want everyone to get the most out of tomorrow’s workshops.
Stay glued to Facebook (facebook.com/YoungAdultCancerCanada) and Twitter (@yacancercanada, hashtag #SC2012) for the live tweet version of the Conference.
See you in the morning!
