A Thon Story (Accomplished: 18)

As you may already know, I'm on a committee here at Penn State for an event known as THON. It's a 46 hour no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon that raises money for The Four Diamonds Fund, which is based in Hershey, PA and helps children and their families that are suffering from pediatric cancer. We've been working hard for months, and now THON is only seven days away!!!



Tonight, I received an email from a girl on my committee that said she had been having a rough week. One of her sorority sisters was diagnosed with leukemia in October. She left Penn State to go through chemotherapy, and after three rounds of intense treatment, she passed away a few days ago. The girl's name? Jill.

This story changed my perspective on THON immediately. It seems to give new meaning to what we're THON-ing for. Life is already so short, and it's horrible that cancer makes it shorter for so many people.

After hearing this story, I immediately thought of our 101 project...because life is short, it feels good to know that we're doing the things we've always wanted to do rather than just putting them off for later. I remembered Number 18 on our list: Donate $100 to charity, and knew exactly what I wanted to donate my money to.

I have to admit though...I didn't donate exactly $100. Typing in 101.00 in the amount line just felt so much more symbolic... :)

And part of the reason why I shared this whole story is to shamelessly promote THON...you can donate, too, at thon.org !

Live your life. Love your life.

<3,
Jillian