Dance Marathon has always been an important organization to me. I attended my first Big Event as a freshman, and this year I decided to step it up and become a member of leadership. As a part of the Operations Committee and Sustainability Subcommittee, I made sure that the Big Event ran smoothly and was environmentally friendly. Despite all the hard work, long hours and late nights, I’ve loved every minute of it and have learned so much over the past few months.
1. Hard work pays off
I had to attend several five- to six-hour work days in order to make decorations and signs for the Big Event. They were long and sometimes tedious, but when I saw my creations hanging up in the Iowa Memorial Union right before the Big Event started, I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself. No matter how hard I worked in the weeks leading up to the Big Event, I always saw my efforts become worth something.
2. Stay positive
In supporting kids with cancer, Dance Marathon has taken up a very serious matter to raise money for. However, the Big Event celebrates life. We celebrate the life of the kiddos who have beaten cancer, we cheer on the lives of the patients in the hospital, and we remember the lives of the kiddos forever dancing in our hearts. It’s so important to stay positive and look at life like the glass is half full because that’s what we’re fighting for.
3. Always laugh
The DM23 Operations Committee brought me a Big Event full of laughs and fun, not to mention the months of random dabbing (long story). It’s always important to laugh with the people around you. We bonded from all the inside jokes, family events and group pictures, and we never, ever stopped laughing and having fun with each other. Even though at times during the Big Event we were all suffering from hurt feet and painful muscle cramps, there was always a smile on everybody’s face.
Photos are the author’s own