Happiness is not a destination, it is the whole ride. Us 20-year-olds need to stop looking at our boyfriends, our jobs, our weight and our paychecks to find happiness. It will never be there. Our happiness is with us, always.

We should be more sensitive to how we speak about and to those dancing on the cancer life-and-death line. Leave the stereotypes and the judgments aside and listen. Let's turn up the love and respect and turn down the need to pounce with our own solutions.

Young adults face a slew of unique challenges when it comes to cancer -- from dating and sex, to finances, to career interruptions, to the fact that our cure rates haven't caught up with other age groups. We juggle all this while trying to stay alive at the same time.

Cancer patients tend to bond with the pain they've gone through. They identify with their greatest pain because it's also their greatest victory. But you are not the car you drive, you are not how much money you have in the bank, you are not your khakis, and you are not your cancer.