I don't know where to begin on this topic. THON. That's all that's need to be said. For those who are not aware of THON - Penn State Dance Marathon - is a 46 hour no sleeping, no sitting dance marathon in efforts to find a cure for pediatric cancer. This is the largest student run philanthropy in the world, and I am so honored to be a part of such an amazing organization. THON was just held this past weekend at Penn State... ending over 46 hours ago. My contribution to THON is as a morale committee member, where during THON weekend each moraler gets assigned a dancer and well, morales them all weekend long. Moralers have shifts during the weekend where we will sleep for maybe 2hrs every 7 hours or so and get back to THON to pep up the dancers!
Throughout the weekend (and all year) we support those families who have been effected with cancer. No parent wants to hear "your child has cancer" .... this is why we THON. We THON to help those families. We THON for the cure, for the kids. All weekend long, kids run around the dance floor with the largest smiles, playing with every big kid that walks by. Within 10 minutes of THON starting I was soaking wet from being in a water gun fight with one little boy... I didn't even have time to fill my water gun up yet! Pretty sure he had a double shooter too.
THON has made such an impact on my life and my life at Penn State. For all the wonderful friends I have made through this organization, everyone has such a big heart. Dedication, passion and love. Every person carries such a passionate story which shapes the support Penn State has to help find a cure.
I had the most amazing opportunity to be on the floor for the last four hours of the weekend. The last four hours are some of the best hours of the weekend, which includes the largest dance party you'll ever see, dancers motivating themselves to make it through, and family hour... when families have the opportunity to share their stories with all of THON and touch everyone's heart. Looking around, seeing and hearing all the support the Penn State community brings to THON was indescribable. I have never experienced anything similar to this past weekend. It's extremely difficult to fully describe THON weekend to anyone who has never been there, but videos and pictures truly capture the beauty that is THON.
There's just so much to write about and I cannot find the right words to describe the essence of THON. It has taken me over an hour to write this. A known quote about THON goes - from the outside looking in you can't understand it, from the inside looking out you cant explain it. For The Kids.
A shout out to the apples, bros, my dancers and bffs.
Do what you think is impossible.
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