She was my first friend in college. We met during freshman orientation and she became one of my closest friends. We lived in the same dorm building and had weekly dinners in our freshman and sophmore years, where we fantasized about our majors and our futures. We ended up changing our minds about our majors every week! We shared an apartment our junior and senior years. These past two years really showed me the endless depths of Janet's pure-hearted and caring nature. Whether it was working until 3 am on Friday nights to finalize English literacy lesson plans just to wake up at 7 am on Saturdays to volunteer at a public school across Los Angeles, organizing quarterly book drives at UCLA to raise money and send textbooks to schools in Africa, or being upset for days if something is troubling one her friends, Janet has an incredible ability to empathize with others and find ways to remedy others' pain. She would really go out of her way to help someone if she knows they are in need. Janet is the most selfless person I know and sometimes I feel that she is not appreciated enough. Since her diagnosis, I've joked with her that it's so like her to have O positive blood, in which case she can donate blood to anyone, but can only receive from other O positive people.

Right now, she desperately needs our help. So please register to be a bone marrow donor, organize a donor drive, or donate money/fundraise for Janet and her parents (she's already accrued some health debts, her parents have been taking time off of work to take care of Janet, and her younger brother is at UC Davis). Please help Janet live to accomplish all the wonderful things she has planned to do!