When Estee Lauder first reached out to me to be a part of this campaign, I declined because I didn’t know how I felt about sharing my personal story for all the world to see (and critisize). And to be honest, I’ve been a little overloaded and overwhelmed with my day job. So I politely declined. But then, after a follow email from the team and then watching the Estee Lauder’s Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign video, I changed my mind.  I’m glad I watched the video; it’s short and simple but does an awesome job and, in my opinion, is really powerful. So I thought, wow I want to be a part of that. I emailed them back and told them to count me in!

So, here we go y’all. Here is my little story.

It was the summer before my Junior year of high school. Aside from a few upcoming courses and some other not-so-shallow concerns, all I was really worried about was what most 16 year old high school girls worry about – meaningless clutter. The top of my worry list included deciding which new pair of hot-right-now tennis shoes I needed for the first day of school and loading up on bright, new school supplies for the year ahead. Being that I was smack-dab-in-the-middle of my high school journey, my priorities were pretty predictable and relatively shallow. I like to think that I was a well-rounded, exceptional teenager, but let’s be honest here – I was 16 and focused on me, myself, and I.

After just getting back home from a month-long mission trip, I had a few big errands and tasks to tackle before school started.  So here I was, running around town running errands–and to be exact, in the middle of picking between hot pink or lime green Nikes,–when my entire world suddenly turned upside down in a matter of hours. And although it happened pretty fast, my memories from that August afternoon in 2006 are vivid and clear and sometimes even slow motion.

It’s interesting to reflect and notice how, after all this time, my mind somehow (albeit subconsciously) swept up and clung onto the most random and inconclusive little details from that day. I remember what song was playing on the radio; the colors of the stoplights on the way home and which ones seemed to linger longer than usual; the smell of the rain and the piles of laundry and empty suitcases I’d left by the side door  after getting back from my trip; ground beef on the stove for taco Tuesday; and the look in my father’s eyes that told me all I needed to know.

Despite what all my English teacher’s have told me over the years, I’m an avid supporter of cliches. And this was the coming-to-life moment for me of the I never thought it would happen to me cliche. We are all guilty of thinking this way at some point or another and feel as if the evils and tragedies of this world are miles and worlds away from our little bubble of reality. But I can say from my experience on that day (and many others) that there really is nothing like that struggle to accept something you never imagined would happen. It’s a surreal feeling – your mind suddenly struck by a state of cognitive dissonance that leaves you feeling confused, dizzy and paralyzed as you try and come to terms with reality.

That was the day I found out my mom had breast cancer. But the good news is, as I’m sure most of you know by now, she is still with us today. So luckily and graciously for my family, our story ended well. But I know not everyone’s C-word-story ends well and so it is for this reason (among others) that I’ve since been an active supporter of raising breast cancer awareness. In fact, my sisters and I actually started a non profit the following year and went on to host 6 annual mother-daughter fashion show and luncheons to raise money for the cure, raising over $150,000.

Me and my two sisters at the 2010 luncheon (5th Annual)

In a nutshell, the event was a luncheon that took place each year on Mother’s day weekend and included a Fashion show courtesy of local boutiques and volunteer models showing off the new arrivals for Spring and Summer down the runway.

Survivor, Courtney Loup Edwards, sharing her story at the 2010 event (5th Annual)

And at the end of each show, we would have a survivor share her story and experience with everyone, adding a personal touch.

Parade of Pink Finale at the 2011 Event (6th Annual)

We concluded the fashion show with what we like to call the “Parade of Pink” where we invited Breast Cancer survivors in the community to wear ball gowns (also from boutiques) and strut (proudly!) down the runway to a second line band (this was always such a fun surprise!), celebrating their defeat together. This was my favorite part!

The color pink will always mean something a little more for me and my family. Being that there are 4 girls in our family of 6, we were already big fans of the color pink; but this experience that we went through together made the color and all that it represents all that much sweeter and more special. The Kellers are big supporters of the color pink and always will be ;)

Disclaimer: compensation for this post was provided by BCA via AOL Media.  The opinions expressed herein belong to me (and me only!) and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of BCA or AOL. And Also, thank you to Estee Lauder and AOL for inspiring me to sit down and take time to share a little piece of my story. I’m so happy to be a part of such an amazing campaign!