{"id":6074,"date":"2024-09-30T12:03:35","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T16:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.teamimpact.org\/?p=6074"},"modified":"2024-10-02T10:36:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T14:36:48","slug":"childhood-cancer-awareness-month-vara-and-michigan-dance-the-leaders-and-the-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teamimpact.org\/about\/blog\/childhood-cancer-awareness-month-vara-and-michigan-dance-the-leaders-and-the-best\/","title":{"rendered":"Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: Vara and Michigan Dance, the Leaders and the Best"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September marks Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a time to shine a light on the incredible strength, resilience, and courage of children and families facing one of life\u2019s toughest journeys. But it\u2019s also a time to celebrate the communities that stand beside them, supporting them every step of the way. For Vara, joining the Michigan Dance team meant gaining a team, a support system, a community, and so much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seventeen-year-old Vara knows all too well the challenges of living with childhood cancer. \u201cLiving through a childhood cancer diagnosis is like being in a car crash over and over again<\/strong>,\u201d Vara\u2019s mom, Emily, said. \u201cAfter the initial diagnosis shock wears off, you then are immediately forced into a world, language, and day-to-day operational model that is so foreign to \u2018normal\u2019 life.\u201d For Vara, this was an experience she feels no one can fully understand until they or a loved one is directly impacted, an experience that often makes you feel alone, an experience that is scary and unknown. But through Team IMPACT, Vara found more than just a support system\u2014she found a family. \u201cIt feels terribly lonely, and at times the isolation can create more fear,\u201d Emily said. \u201cHaving an outlet and voice, a team to support you is critical to success for the family and the child. It helps to know that you are not alone, and that there is strength behind you.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The support that Vara receives from her team isn\u2019t just one big moment\u2014it\u2019s a collection of little ones that add up to something priceless. From dancing at volleyball games to deep conversations about life, Vara\u2019s team has become 27 best friends who Emily says help her navigate life and focus on the future, boosting her confidence along the way. \u201cBeing able to have true friends that help her talk about her feelings, explore a challenge emotionally or physically, and find ways to win, she feels accepted, and that is the best gift,\u201d <\/strong>Emily said. \u201cThose girls are her role models, and we are so lucky they are amazing women, students, and athletes. This has given Vara friends that are true, time that is fun, a peek at life as a college student-athlete, hope in a future that is fulfilling even if it is challenging, and support that is unwavering.<\/strong> It is simply priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the impact of Vara\u2019s friendship with the dance team isn\u2019t one-sided. Vara\u2019s teammates have been changed by their time with her just as much as she has. Julia Lepore, a Fellow and student-athlete on the dance team, credits Vara with giving her a new perspective on life. Last year, Vara gifted her entire team with bracelets, which now stands as a reminder to Julia of their unbreakable connection. \u201cEvery time I wear the bracelet and look at it, it reminds me that Vara is always with me, even when we\u2019re not together. It reminds me of how strong she is and how much she\u2019s overcome in life. Vara reminds me that anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Julia and her teammates have seen Vara grow in remarkable ways since joining the team, but they also acknowledge how much they\u2019ve grown alongside her. \u201cOur team has changed. We\u2019ve grown a lot because she is a part of our team,<\/strong>\u201d Julia said. \u201cShe is part of our team, she is on our team, just like any of us. She impacts our lives with her presence and the way she brings a positive attitude to any atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sofia, also a Fellow and member of the dance team, seconded the power Vara has had on not only the dance team but the entire Michigan Athletics community. \u201cSince Vara joined the team, we have learned the importance of community when going through something like childhood cancer. Vara has had a stellar community around her, not only of doctors but of friends and family who have helped to support her, including the entire Michigan community,\u201d Sofia said. \u201cYou will have people who have seen your scars and embrace you because of them<\/strong>. Vara is hilarious, she\u2019s the comedian of our team, and she\u2019s seriously the light of any room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alongside dozens of other Team IMPACT matches at the University of Michigan, Vara has redefined what it means to be the Leaders and the Best. Participating in Team IMPACT provides student-athletes with the opportunity to learn about resilience, strength, and what it means to support others in ways that extend far beyond the playing field. \u201cTeam IMPACT means a lot to the whole Michigan Athletics community because every single athletics team at the University of Michigan, we all value family, passion, hard work, dedication, and positivity, and those are all qualities Team IMPACT brings to us and enhances<\/strong>,\u201d Julia said. \u201cIt really empowers us as athletes to not only work toward a goal for ourselves but to impact others and pay it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For Sofia, her involvement with Team IMPACT has given her time at Michigan a deeper sense of purpose. \u201cIf I were not involved in Team IMPACT, a significant amount of the purpose and meaning from my time at Michigan would be taken,\u201d <\/strong>she said. \u201cYou can\u2019t be the Leaders and the Best without getting everyone in the game<\/strong>. Team IMPACT and Michigan Athletics have the same foundations of reaching higher, of pushing yourself to do more, of getting more people involved to make success even greater.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we wrap up September and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we shine light on those children on their own childhood cancer journeys and the teams who are alongside them through every up and down as we strive to ensure no child faces their illness in isolation. \u201cI never want you to doubt how important you are and how important your story is,\u201d Sofia said. \u201cYour fight matters. Your struggles matter. Your family matters. You matter.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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