I've Gotta Be Me

I've found myself getting frustrated with people assuming that everything I do relates somehow to cancer.  I did have a life and interests before this, so obviously I'm still interested in the same things now, correct?  I guess the easiest way for me to illustrate this is experiences on the place where I seem to have the most contact with people, Facebook.

I have been a Wonder Woman fan since I was a wee little tyke.  Come on, I was raised in the time of Lynda Carter in her "satin tights, fighting for our rights and the old red, white and bluuuuuue!"  It was my secret goal in life to be Wonder Woman when I grew up.  Not sure how that's possible, but it sure beats wanting to be a ballerina, doesn't it?

So, one day, I came across a blog post about some new DC WWII bombshell-style posters and totally dug them, but especially the Wonder Woman one, so I posted it as my profile picture.

It was immediately bombarded with "likes" and then people started commenting: Yes you can!  It was then that I realized that people were taking it as me acknowledging my diagnosis and pumping myself up in retro-geeky fashion.  I took it down immediately.

Then I found a great Star Wars/Big Lebowski mashup picture to use as my cover photo.  I needed a profile picture to match it, so when I found a mini-fig of Maude in her Viking bowler outfit, I thought that would work well.  And then the "likes" popped up again, but I figured that people had good taste in movies...until I started getting the comments: You ARE a warrior!  UGH!!

First off, have you never seen The Big Lebowski?  No, I guess my mother probably never has. (Thanks for the "like", Mom. Sigh.)  

Secondly, I hate being called a warrior.  The term annoys me to no end.  I'm not doing anything that requires me to be brave.  I'm not going out and fighting some sort of wild beast with my bare hands.  I'm just rolling with it.  Sure, some days have sucked - physically and mentally, but they're temporary.  It doesn't take courage for me to go to the clinic every week and get my chemo - it's just something that needs to be done.  Courage would be me having to walk through a room full of giant spiders to get to my treatment.  Yup, I'd take the warrior title then.

   This video has never made sense at all, has it?

Last, but not least, my life does not revolve around my cancer.  (See the title of my husband's blog: She Is NOT Her Cancer)  Okay, physically it does, but mentally, nuh uh.  I'm still me!  Come on, let's talk about movies or dreams or football or, hell, even politics.  Don't get me wrong, I will be happy to talk about what I'm experiencing as long as it's not ALL we talk about and you don't look at me with pity.  I'm thankful for my friends who realize this and I'm hopeful that more will come to realize it before this is over.

It's me, your old friend Becca.  Nothing's changed, okay?