When the football season starts in most schools across America few people can talk about anything else. At times it can seem like the most important thing in the world. For players, it is their social status, their family pride, their ticket to university. For cheerleaders, it is their friends, their family, and more. In reality, it is not so important. The people we love, their health and well being is what really matters in life. While football can be a great form of entertainment and a fun pastime, it is just that. There was a powerful reminder of this in Palo Cedro, California when one student was diagnosed with cancer.
Ashley Adamietz attends the high school and was recently picked as a cheerleader, an incredibly proud moment for her. Unfortunately, before her first game, she was diagnosed with Leukemia.
A sad moment for a young student, yet when her community showed their support she was brought to tears of joy. Ashley went to her first game as a cheerleader full of nerves for her performance. She had been getting daily chemotherapy treatments and was likely distracted.
As the cheerleaders stood in line and welcomed out their players, something amazing happened. Each one of the 57 football players on the Palo Cedro team brought out an orange rose and laid it Ashley’s feet. Orange is the color of cancer awareness in America and the rose was used as a symbol of the support that her community wants to show.
Ashely watched on in awe as each player brought out a single rose and when the final rose was put down she grabbed her friends and hugged them in thanks. The act later went viral online and crowdfunding began to raise money for Ashley.
The incredible act was organized by the players on the team and shows how while we can all be distracted with little things that seem important when something that truly matters comes along we have to put those things aside and show our friends and family that we are there for them.
