The annual Walk for Wishes in Orlando inspires hope, raises money and is an outlet for fun.

  • Walk for Wishes Wednesday in Orlando
  • Raises money for Make-A-Wish
  • Nearly 2,000 people took part 

Goofing around with his friend, Dalen Seals, 15, definitely has the fun part down pat.

“Turn up, turn up, turn up,” said Seals, dancing with his friend.  

It’s hard to tell, but Seals is a Make-A-Wish kid. He’s battling a brain tumor connected to his optic nerve.

“It’s tough, it was tough, it still is. I can’t do the things that I used to be able to do because of the vision loss,” said Seals.  

It could be easy to get down, but Dalen has found an outlet that keeps his spirits up: music and rap.

“I write them, I make the beats, I do the background vocals and everything,” said Seals.  

He calls it his motivation booster and Wednesday night he was invited to take the stage in front of hundreds at Walk for Wishes at Lake Eola to rap a song he wrote.

The song was appropriately named “Make a Wish.”  With a quick flow he tells the crowd via rap his experience with cancer and how Make-A-Wish helped him find hope.

The crowd grew in numbers as he sang, and stood listening as the Evans High School student poetically sang about the experience of fighting a cancerous tumor.

And while Seals was happy to see the crowd, this song was dedicated to the other Make-A-Wish kids.

“I want them to feel that even though it may be tough, there is always something that can boost up your spirits. Don’t let it bring you down, make it part of your daily life,” said Seals.  

And to end the performance, the crowd serenaded Dalen to the tune of “Happy Birthday,” because it's the teen’s 16th birthday on Saturday. Dalen plans to cash in on his big wish.

“I always loved the MTV 'My Sweet Sixteen' show. And it was just like, ‘boom, I know exactly what I want.’ And it is just, having a super 16 party, you know, March 18,” said Seals.

To learn more about Seals go to the Team Dalen Seals website.