It’s almost spring — and that means the world is finally stretching its limbs and emerging from that long, cold sleep of winter. The spring sports of track, lacrosse, and crew have commenced. With all the newborn commotion and excitement come many fun events at school. This past Friday, my school held a traditional charity event known as THON.

    The concept of a “-thon” is hardly new to schools and organizations across America. Derived from the word “marathon,” a “–thon” is usually an intense or long-lasting fundraising or charity event held by an association or foundation; walk-a-thons, dance-a-thons, and just plain old marathons and triathlons are held all the time, in every state. Usually, these “–thons” consist of long periods of dancing, walking, running, etc. in an effort to raise money for a certain cause. Perhaps the most famous “-thon” of all is the Penn State IFC/PanHellenic Dance Marathon. Pennsylvania State University is the state university of Pennsylvania, and one of the biggest in the area. Each year, it holds the notorious THON, a three-day dance marathon event to raise funds for children’s cancer organizations. It is the largest student-run philanthropy event in the world, raising over US$13,000,000 at the 2014 event alone. Similarly, my school holds a THON every one or two years to raise money for various charity organizations. Our THON was a 12-hour event from a Friday night into Saturday morning.

    The week before the THON, donations were collected by the student council for the charity organization. The choice this year was Laurel House, a local domestic violence agency and transitional housing program.

    THON began at 7 p.m., so I rushed from dance class in Philadelphia straight to the event, bringing with me comfortable clothing and a sleeping bag to spend the night. Logistics of the event were explained, and then we were left to entertain ourselves for 12 hours. First came dancing with our favorite DJ. For two hours, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., we occupied the gym, bedecked in glow sticks, and danced like crazy! Then, we were given an hour to relax, eat, and set up our sleeping gear. There was an ice cream social following that, during which many of us gorged ourselves on gummy bears and chocolate. At midnight, half of the school went back down to the gym to play a few rounds of dodge ball; we freshmen played a couple of aggressive games against the juniors. About half an hour later, the sophomores combatted the seniors in dodge ball while we rotated back to make craft and snack kits for the children residing in the Laurel House. Together, we packed lunch bags of food and snacks, and assembled bracelet-making kits to keep the kids entertained. Then from approximately 1 a.m. to 4 a.m., we moved to the gym to watch two movies, “Frozen” and “Catching Fire.” Finally, at 6 a.m., breakfast was served: bagels and fresh fruit for everyone! Then, altogether, the THON participants cleaned up the school, rolled up their sleeping bags, and waited in the lobby to get picked up.

    What a long night! THON was absolutely exhausting, and absolutely incredible. It was such an amazing experience, and one that I would never trade for anything. I look forward to participating in THON again.

    Merry Gu (辜子蕊)

    is a Grade 9 student at the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur in Villanova, Pennsylvania. She lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, a suburb near Philadelphia in the United States.