By day, I am a full-time high school teacher and professor. By night, and often on weekends, you’ll find me possibly writing feature and travel stories, moderating author panels, and even cosplaying my favorite characters at conventions. Next week, I’ll be stepping onto the stage as a guest at New York Comic Con, and it still feels surreal after doing this for three years. But what I’ve learned is this: our jobs are only one part of who we are, not the whole story.

According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation (pcf.org), “approximately one in eight men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed type of cancer in men, after skin cancer. In 2025, it is estimated that more than 313,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the U.S., and more than 1.4 million men were diagnosed globally in 2022.” I am one of those 313,000.