My Best 30 Hours

Last weekend was probably the best 30 hours of my life. No joke.
So in my past blogs, I’ve been writing a bit about the Dance Marathon, but during the past few weeks, it has been hitting us full force. Weekly meetings, dance choreography, writing more letters – and then it all culminated at the 30-hour-long Dance Marathon.
UMDM raises money for pediatric rehabilitation all year long, and it ends the year with the Dance Marathon, when dancers stand for 30 hours straight. The day before it started, I was terrified. I kept asking why I was going to torture myself like this. Going without sleep for thirty hours is one thing, but standing for that long? Ridiculous, right?
I walked into the Indoor Track and Field Building at 10 o’clock Saturday morning with butterflies in my stomach. But I was immediately overwhelmed by how much there was to do. Crafts, games, great performers and speakers (Mike Hart, anyone?), a late-night rave, lip syncing competitions, and of course, the infamous line dance, that we would learn step-by-step for the next day until it was over 10 minutes long. I thought that I couldn’t last, but encouraging words from my friends, teammates, and morale captain made the time fly by. By the morning, my feet were sore, my back needed a serious massage, and I could barely keep my eyes open, but words can’t describe how great the experience was. Not only did I get to bond with a great group of amazing people (Team OO!) and raise money for children (Over $450,000, thankyouverymuch), but the Dance Marathon showed me how much this organization actually helps. After 29 and a half hours of standing, a boy came up to the stage and played Five For Fighting’s “Superman” on the xylophone. Tears were streaming down my face while I thought of what a hard time kids like him have every day, and I felt so privileged to be part of a group that would help give him a better life.
At 4 o’clock Sunday, tired and practically delirious, all of the dancers collapsed onto the floor and made their way home. Before an hour had passed, I was dead asleep in my bed, not moving until late the next morning, but the weekend was definitely worth it. The Dance Marathon was the highlight of my year, and I can’t wait to do it again.
Exhausting? Yes. Draining? Oh, yeah. Emotional? Of course. But how rewarding was it? Beyond words.