This week I am taking a break from writing about Education reform and taking the time to reflect on my experience this past weekend as a dancer at THON 2014. Let me start of by saying that experiencing THON as a dancer, from Friday morning until Sunday evening was, for lack of a better word, incredible. I don’t know how to put my experience into words that will accurately reflect all the things I experienced and felt but I am certainly going to try.
When I woke up on Friday morning, I tried my hardest to go back to sleep knowing I would be awake for the next two days but I couldn’t. I was excited of course but I was also very nervous. I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to make it, that my body would just give out on me in the middle of it all. So I spent my morning doing other things like my PLA blog post, laundry and packing. All the while avoiding all thoughts of how long I would be awake for. And then the time arrived to walk over to the multi sports complex.
I must say I was quite surprised by how pampered we dancers were throughout the weekend. Upon arrival at the multi sports complex we were given new Nike backpacks filled with all sorts of goodies. While I appreciated this it seemed to be a bit unnecessary. The best part of it though was the Subway fanny pack that we got as that was probably the most useful thing throughout the weekend.
On Friday what really got me pumped was the first family speaker and then of course the Human Tunnel. I don’t think I have given so many high-fives in my life but no words can describe how exciting it was to see so many people lined up all cheering us on. At 6 p.m. we stood and the adventure began. There were so many indescribable and memorable moments in the 46 hours to follow that I won’t take the time here to recount them all but I would like to mention some of my favorites.
My first time being squirted with a squirt gun by a little kid running by (I got it on film) was pretty magical. I didn’t get to meet the kido (she was too busy hitting people with the squirt gun) but seeing her smile and hearing her laugh reminded me why I was participating in this amazing weekend. It reminded me that THON isn’t all about the total amount of money that we raise. It’s also about giving families affected by cancer time to have fun and enjoy themselves. It’s about giving them a reason to smile.
Another one of my favorite moments was an interaction my dance partner and I had with a total stranger. We met a young woman who offered to give us foot rubs (at this point it was impossible to say no because our feet were really hurting). She said that this was her family’s 13th THON and that they love coming back year after year. Later on, sometime on Sunday afternoon we bumped into her and her family right as the band (was it Go Go Gadget?) was playing Iris and they invited us to join their circle and sway with them. It was really great to get to connect with a family like that even when you don’t know their names. Yet again I was reminded of why I was still standing.
My two other most favorite moments of the weekend were Family Hour and of course dancing to Go Go Gadget right before sitting down.
Family Hour was very hard to get through because after being awake and on your feet for so long it is very hard to stand still and not fall asleep (my partner had to hold me up, literally) but it is the most important hour of the entire weekend. It’s amazing how courageous the families are and hearing their stories is so crucial. They are the reason that we spend months raising money and preparing for THON weekend. They are the reason that 15,000 Penn State students commit countless hours of their time, they are the reason 700 dancers push on through the most tired moments of the weekend. And yet we only dedicate one hour of the entire 46 to them. I have to say I was disappointed. As a dancer there are so many things there to distract you (which is necessary, I recognize, or else I wouldn’t have made it) that it is sometimes easy to forget that THON is not just a dance party. I think in the future it would be nice to dedicate more time throughout the weekend specifically to the families and their stories and concentrate a little less on the dancers.
My final favorite moment of the weekend that I will share was when Go Go Gadget played Zombie Nation and told us all to jump. The BJC was literally rocking. I don’t think anyone does school spirit like Penn State and I am so fortunate and proud to be a part of such an amazing family.
One last thing before I call it quits for this week. I noticed during the weekend that there wasn’t a single moment where all the volunteers were recognized. Like I mentioned earlier, there is so much emphasis put on the dancers but this does not mean we should neglect to recognize all the hard work and time the committee members and volunteers put into THON. In future THONs it would be great to recognize them as well.
Thank you to everyone who made THON 2014 possible and who continue to redefine the possibilities.
FTK