Remember a time that you had an idea of putting on an event, of any kind: birthday party, graduation, community event, ect. Did you host “said” event at your house or did you find space elsewhere? Do you remember all of the steps that you needed to finalize and the anxiety that came along with this? Does it stress you out to even think about it?
Well, my dear friend Melissa had an idea for SMILE #UWokeUp to raise awareness of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) through art. Offering to coordinate everything, “Molly, I have it all under control. You just focus on your race to raise TBI awareness (Boulder 70.3 Ironman). I will take care of the rest.” Rest assured, I listened and just showed up for the amazing event that my friend hosted.
Melissa is a TBI survivor herself and 12 years ago her world changed. She no longer could endure the outside world the same as she once did before. Melissa became a part of SMILE #UWokeUp when we were just starting out a couple of years ago, and a blessing this was is an understatement. This weekend, Melissa took her TBI to a whole new level and showed others that- IM-POSSIBLE, is in full effect. She choose to not let her TBI define what she could and could not do. Instead, Melissa grabbed the bull by the horns, deciding that she was going to tackle the repercussions of the TBI with force.
Melissa hosted an event with Artisan You, in Loveland Colorado. Not only did Melissa plan and coordinate the event with Artisan You, she took on all Marketing for this project. Melissa crafted the flyer and took charge of sending this artwork to our print shop, to then flyer our community. Melissa also crafted a Social Media event page and invited many of her friends. It does not just stop here. Melissa made a grocery list and went to the store to grab all supplies needed for the event: burgers, buns, vegetables, water, chips, oranges, grapes, plates and napkins, tablecloths, silverware ect. She arrived early and help setup, getting all of our collateral for the event set out and in place for art, pottery and crafts. What an amazing day. There was so much love that filled the air – everything seemed like a dream.
For anyone, this would have been a lot. For a TBI survivor, multiply this feeling by 3. Every task we face is a challenge. Every decision we make, we have to ask ourselves if we thought about all of the steps in the process. Melissa showed others that not only, can you create an event in your head, but you can make it a reality – with or without a brain injury.
We are so proud of Melissa and all of her hard work, while helping to create a larger awareness of traumatic brain injuries in our communities. We want to thank everyone who helped make this event a success, too.