{Insert Cause} Awareness {Insert Duration}, Is It Ever Not 'Personal'? A Shirt, A Question, Another Shoe Drops

Let's Call this a Letter on 'Cause Awareness'.

My Dear Fellow Humans (the ones I know and the ones I don’t),

I haven’t written much lately. I’ve been in a bit of a creative stasis, hibernation, or maybe just in an “I don’t really have anything I want to create and share” mood lately.

March is MS Awareness Month

I know someone who lives with MS, Multiple Sclerosis. She is aware that I design and print T-shirts. If you are not aware, March is MS Awareness Month.

She found an image of a shirt online that she liked. It was cute, it was funny and sarcastic — a very “her kind of shirt”.

Despite the wondrous age of the internet we live in, complete with images being linked to everyone’s shops and whatnot for their entrepreneurial side-hustles, she found no option for this particular shirt design that she could actually purchase. So, naturally, she asked me if I could make her one. Of course, agreed to make it for her. Why would I say no? I made my own version of it, design and all.

A Question

The day it arrived, I dropped it off at work. She immediately changed into it to check the fit. I began my shift, and a customer asked me, “Does she have MS? Or does she know someone with MS?”

I was a bit taken aback by the question.
Reasons:
1. Medical Privacy
2. Business Ethics
3. Is it a prerequisite for someone to have a medical condition or know someone who has a medical condition to wear a medical cause awareness t-shirt?

Anyway, after my rapid-fire brain session of “reason/logic/ethics/right to disclose personal information given the situation and location”, I answered her question.
“Yes, she has MS. I made the shirt for her. March is MS awareness month. Can I get you anything else? Do you have rewards with us? …. Thank you, have a nice day!”

Fast forward 1 week.

A Social Question

I wanted to know why someone, a celebrity, chooses to publicly support a particular group of “afflicted persons”. Celebrities naturally support various charitable organizations that are often adjacent to any number of awareness causes.

Re-enter question number 3 from my earlier listed reasons of being taken aback by my customer’s question:
Do celebrities choose to support causes because they have some personal connection/reason to that particular group of people?

It seems to me that celebrities and politicians are the primary groups of people who are socially exempt from having a personal reason to be connected to a charitable group or any associated awareness causes.
But is that the case? Or are they just not vocal publicly about the reasons they gravitate towards that cause?

In general, most people will support causes associated with the welfare of children, animals, and conservation without some underlying personal connection.
But for some reason, when you start to get into the specific causes, society makes this assumption that you must have some personal connection to the cause in order to be involved.

Why do I bring any of this up at all?

There are No Dumb Questions and I’m Annoyed

I think I’m annoyed.
Actually, I know I’m annoyed.

However, I am not annoyed with Awareness Causes.

The purpose of Awareness Causes is to educate the public, raise funds, and advocate for research and/or policy changes regarding a plethora of health, social, and environmental issues.

Typically, I say there are no “dumb questions”.

Yet, if this is the first question we ask when we see someone with an Awareness Cause shirt, “Is your connection to this cause personal?”

I think, maybe that’s a dumb question, even though it’s not.
Reasons:
1. Whether or not it’s personal isn’t really of importance in spreading awareness.
2. Whether or not it’s personal, isn’t really anyone else’s business.
3. By wearing the awareness shirt, the person is automatically making it personal, as in I personally have awareness of this cause and I can provide you with education, information, resources, and where to go for more information/inquiries to support this cause.

But, whatever (exasperated sigh included).
You didn’t want to make assumptions, I like that.
You asked because you’re curious, and in my opinion, curiosity is good.

Though you should be aware, that with these awareness causes, the answer to whether or not it’s personal is something that really isn’t information you need to know. Why is it irrelevant?
Because we live in a judgmental, discriminatory, and damning world. Maybe you’re not that person, but depending on where you are when you ask… someone else nearby might be that judgmental, discriminatory, and damning person.

If they tell you, it’s because they don’t mind sharing that information with you.
Because we live in a judgmental, discriminatory, and damning world. Maybe you’re not that person, but depending on where you are when you ask… someone else nearby might be that judgmental, discriminatory, and damning person.

The Other Shoe Drops

March is also Colorectal Cancer Awareness month.

What do you know about Colorectal Cancer?
What about other types of cancers that present in the colorectal area that are not colorectal cancers?

I know some things — facts, figures, and general aspects of a lot of cancers, actually.
But now I find myself in a situation where I am going to become more educated and more aware than I ever wanted to be about this particular area of awareness.

I’m annoyed because I have one more cause added to my list of causes where I have a personal connection.

I don’t want to be annoyed.

But I am annoyed nonetheless.
Consider it a natural part of the grieving process.

I want to see a world where more people are involved in Awareness Causes without having a personal connection to them.

Because I have always had too many causes where I have a personal connection.

Why am I not telling you what my personal connection is to this cause?
Reasons:
1. The personal connection doesn’t like to have people know about their health.
2. They don’t want to be “part of a cause”.
3. They just want to be healthy and happy for as long as possible.
4. They also just want me to be happy and healthy.

The Silver Lining I See In All of This Right Now?

I am here (physically and mentally) to help my personal connection.

I know we are not alone in this.

We’re not alone in having this circumstance suddenly thrust upon our lives at 7pm on some random Tuesday.

We’re not alone in our respective feelings about what information we do or do not want to disclose publicly.

We are not alone in wanting people to be happy and healthy.

I know that it will not be easy, there will be good days and bad days.
I know that as much as I will need to be a caretaker for them as this progresses, I will still need to be a caretaker for myself by making time for my own mental, emotional and physical well-being.
I know I will make a lot of selfless choices and twist myself into a pretzel to put their needs first.
I know there will be times that I will feel guilty for the times I need to choose to be selfish and put my own needs first.

I know I’m not alone in any of this.
And, I know there will be plenty of times I feel like I am completely alone with this.

What I don’t know, is how much this will end up altering, delaying or belaying the other plans I had in progress for my own path this year.

I also don’t know who or how other people will show up as my personal support to shows me that I’m not actually alone in this.

Because knowing something is true is one thing; but being shown something is true is entirely different.

Peace, Love, Happy Wednesday, Good Luck,
Take Care,

— Melissa / Mo Jo Jo 💜

The MS Awareness shirt designed by Melissa/MoJoJo

Understanding Ribbon Colors: Guide to Awareness & Cancer Ribbons from Fundraising for a Cause