Listening to life stories is reason to be a journalist

Some days I ask myself to come up with a list of reasons for continuing a career in journalism.

Since I started covering Carpentersville in June 2006, my personal life has been smeared across the Internet, my work criticized and I have been accused of taking sides.

Oh, and my paycheck took a cut late last year.

While I wallow in the cons of working for the media -- the printed media at that -- I am reminded of the pros of this profession.

I experienced one such upside to this job early last week when I met with a group of women training for the Chicago Avon Walk for Breast Cancer at the end of May.

They called themselves the "Bloomin' Bees."

They should have called themselves the "Buzzing Bees," or the "Bubbly Bees," because there was such an air of excitement and enthusiasm as they talked about their experiences and reasons for participating.

Oh, and the bubbly is appropriate because I am sure they will be throwing back magnums of champagne once they have completed the 39.3 mile walk along the lakefront.

Though my centerpiece on the team has yet to run, I felt compelled to share my experience meeting this group of dedicated and inspirational women.

The Avon Breast Cancer Walk, according to the event's home page, is a project of the Avon Foundation and funds raised are distributed by the foundation to advance access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer, with a focus on the medically under-served.

Since the launch of the Avon Walk in 2003, nearly $200 million has been raised through the dedication of 75,000 participating women and men, the Avon Walk Web site states.

On Monday night there was wine and a fruit tray, pizza and crackers, and a husband who liked to crack jokes, albeit terrible jokes.

(Just kidding, Mr. Seigle. You were very funny).

At times it was hard to keep up with the banter and different conversations going on at one time.

But I tried to keep an ear out for all of their tales and it brought me back to why I am a journalist.

I love to learn. Hearing peoples' stories firsthand enables me to learn new things in a more intimate and memorable way.

The bond among the 12 women, many of whom did not know one another before undertaking the challenge, was inspiring.

They talked, laughed, shouted and teased like friends from way back, not a couple of months.

They have made new, lifelong friends and have come together to raise almost $29,000 (as of Wednesday afternoon).

Their goal is $35,000, which I am sure they will blow out of the water.

The team is ranked third in fundraising out of all teams participating in the Chicago walk. The team in first place has 48 people on its roster and has raised about $65,000.

So that means, on average, the Bloomin' Bees have raised $2,416.67 per member, compared to Team Cosmonauts' $1,364.17 per member.

For details, visit avonwalk.org and follow links to the Chicago event.

• Larissa Chinwah covers Carpentersville, East Dundee and West Dundee. To reach her, call (847) 931-5722, or e-mail lchinwah@dailyherald.com.