Did you miss Relay for Life last weekend, collegiettes™?
Well here is a recap of this amazing event! The annual Relay for Life event was held Saturday April 12th out on the USF track. The event lasted from 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon until 8 a.m. Sunday morning. Cancer survivors, caregivers, students, faculty and people from Tampa’s community came out to raise money for a cure. The theme for this year’s Relay for Life was Movies: Lights, Camera, Action. Her Campus’ theme was the Disney movie, Tangled.
This was my first time attending a Relay for Life event at USF and simply put: it was powerful. The first walk around the track was the survivors going in one direction and their caregivers going in the other. The two groups met up on the other side of the track and finished the lap together. Just in their first few steps, I had chills all over my body and started crying along with HC members Justine and Kathy. We laughed at ourselves for our tears, but from then on I knew there would be more to come.
The next lap was the movie lap where each team dressed up like their movie characters for the Lights, Camera, Action theme! Kathy, Justine and I took to the track with our Tangled decorations. We had pretty flowers, a pink frying pan, Pascal, Rapunzel’s pet chameleon, and a long blonde strand of Rapunzel’s braided hair.
There were no tears on this lap; only smiles and laughter. It was so much fun to see all of the other teams dressed up as their movie characters. A big group from HCC was themed Spartan 300 and I saw other organizations as Hunger Games, Hercules, Frozen and more.
HC President Justine even dressed up as Rapunzel!
As we walked the track, we oohed and aahed over all of the decorated tents to match each team. But we were particularly proud of our own Her Campus tent! Kathy painted a beautiful backdrop of Rapunzel and Eugene in the boat watching the lanterns rise into the sky.
The entire week before Relay was dedicated to getting everything ready for our Tangled theme. Her Campus was determined to have cute and creative decorations for our tent. The Friday night before, Justine, Kathy and I were up until 4 in the morning putting the finishing touches on everything. Here’s how our Tangled tent turned out!
HC member Mariam made mini cupcakes. We also made Pascal’s paint brushes which were Rice Krispy treats with colorful icing. HC member Brittni made mixed berry smoothies. In addition, we made Rapunzel’s castle: chocolate and red velvet cupcakes in ice cream cones decorated with her hair coming out of her window in colorful icing. All of our desserts were beautifully crafted and delicious!
Many people stopped by our tent to guess our theme, give donations and buy treats. When we weren’t selling snacks or walking in the themed laps, we found other ways to pass the time. Justine and I even got up to dance with HC member Lucielle.
Other Her Campus members came throughout the day and we played tons of fun games on the field as a DJ played music. HC members Yasmin and Ashley joined Justine and I for the Conga line lap and Kathy snapped a great picture!
More tears came when the sun began to set and we donated money to decorate luminaires. Kathy, Justine and I decorated the two bags and placed them in front of our tent. It was emotional to write the names of the loved ones I had lost to cancer, but even more powerful to be able to honor them.
Once it was dark enough, the stadium lights were shut off and the luminaries were lit. The crowd gathered at the stage and I was overwhelmed at the testimonies of two students who had lost family members to cancer. The word hope was spelled out in the bleachers as we began a silent lap in memory and honor of cancer victims.
The song “In the Arms of an Angel” played in the background as we walked while holding each other. HC members Claire and Sydjea walked with us too. Once we made it to the other side of the track, the word hope changed to cure as “Let it be” by the Beatles played. I am a huge Beatles fan and “Let it be” is my all-time favorite song so I couldn’t stop my tears.
When we finished our lap, the stadium lights were soon turned back on and we sat down under our tent. I needed some time to recover, but soon after I was up playing games on the field again. I kicked the soccer ball with some girls from CCE and played Red Light, Green Light. The DJ called everybody to the stage and we had a huge dance party. We danced to the Cupid Shuffle, the Cha Cha Slide, the Wobble and other popular songs.
As the night went on, Justine, Kathy and I were starting to get tired. After all, we had been at the track since 1:30 in the afternoon and it was well past midnight. We bought and ate yummy food from other tents and walked a few laps on the track. Even though we were tired, we had already decided to stay the whole night together. We passed the hours with books, games, a few more laps and laughter.
When the sun rose the next morning, it was a beautiful sight. The sky was a mixture of light blue, pink and yellow. There were clouds too, but they were peaceful and serene. Relay for Life was one of the best events I have ever attended. It was sorrowful at times, but emotionally moving to see how many people were there to help find a cure. At times I would randomly get chill bumps on my arms at the sheer power of support in the community for cancer victims, survivors, caregivers and others affected by this disease.
I cannot wait to go back to Relay for Life next year and I hope you’ll come too, collegiettes™!