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A Love Letter To My First THON

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Jacqueline Napolitano
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Rachael David
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

Dear THON,

I never really knew what exactly you were until last Friday at 6 p.m. I knew that the dancers danced for 46 hours straight and that the final four hours were the most important, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into and how it would make me feel. All the people I have talked to said you are the best weekend at Penn State and that I’ll have so much fun. I was nervous and didn’t know why; I didn’t know what to expect. I thought it would be too much for me, and I would get overwhelmed.

I realized who I am this past weekend. Not just who I am but who I want to be. I want to be someone who pushes her friends to keep going and keep dancing, even if their legs are killing them and they don’t know how they’re going to last 12 more hours until the final four. I want to be a motivator for all the kids who are stronger than I am and half my age. I want to be an inspiration to those families who were an inspiration to me. I want to be the best dancer I can be, because when it’s 3 a.m. and you are sweating and you feel like you don’t even have feet anymore, you want to look like you know what you are doing. I want to be able to do the Line Dance in 10 years and remember you as being my favorite weekend at Happy Valley. Better than any frat party I had ever been to.  

I want to remember the feeling I had while in the Bryce Jordan Center looking around at the entire university that all came together for one weekend. I never felt more welcomed and a part of something until you. You are not just an event that Penn State has; you are a movement and way of life. There is no way you can walk out of the Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday afternoon, the sun shining, forgetting what the outside feels like and not be changed in some way. I felt like I could do anything, I could change this world in 46 hours or less and that’s what the Penn State community did last weekend. We changed the world all for the kids, and I, for one, couldn’t be more proud. So thank you, for the bruises and the scratchy voice and the messed up sleep schedule. Thank you for the endless memories, the new friendships, the new dance moves and the old ones and ambitions I have obtained from all hours of the night. I’ll never forget you. Here’s to you, see you next year.

Love,

A proud Penn Stater

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Jacqueline Napolitano is currently a sophomore at Penn State University. She is majoring in Journalism and minoring in psychology. She is the head editor to Her Campus Penn State and is loving every second editing articles for the talented writers of Penn State. Her love for everything Buzzfeed and other relatable blogs is what made her want to get in on the action of Her Campus in the fall of 2015. Her experience includes being the Triangle Correspondent for her sorority's magazine, an editorial director for an upcoming book and being the Opinions and Editorial editor for her high school paper. Jacqueline enjoys binge watching every Netflix show from one tree hill to orange is the new black and can recite every episode of friends imagined. She hopes to gain experience in the Public Relations side of Her Campus as well as the writing side. She plans on working in Public Relations or digital journalism for a full time career.
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Rachael David is currently a senior at Penn State University and serves as the Campus Correspondent for Her Campus Penn State. She is majoring in public relations and minoring in psychology. Her love of creative writing and all things Penn State is what inspired her to become a member of the HC team in the fall of 2013. Her background experience includes working for the Undergraduate Admissions Office at Penn State as a social media intern in the spring of 2014 and is currently working as a social media intern for an internet marketing company in Harrisburg called WebpageFX. This past summer she also served as a PR intern for Tierney Communications. Rachael enjoys anything media related especially catching up on her favorite shows, including Saturday Night Live and any show on Food Network. She has a passion for food but also loves being active and spending her free time running or hiking. She hopes to gain more experience in all aspects of the media industry during college and plans on pursuing a career writing for a life & style publication in the future.