Here at Northwestern, one of the biggest weekends of the year is Dance Marathon weekend, when undergraduates crowd an enormous tent at our student center and dance for 30 hours straight, raising money for a certain beneficiary.
I am a senior, and I was all in line for my place in the 120 hour club (when you dance each year—30*4, you do the math), but earlier this week, I decided it would be best to not participate physically this year.
Dance Marathon is an amazing weekend full of camaraderie, philanthropy, and love all around, but 30 hours on your feet is obviously very tough on your feet and knees and will leave you hobbling around for at least a couple of days after. Not to mention the fact that being awake so long is not exactly what you need when you’re as stressed out as I have been (luckily this is getting better at least, woo!). Although Dance Marathon ends at 1 a.m. on a Sunday and you can sleep 16 hours and wake up and it’s still Sunday, it’s a bit hard to get back on a normal sleep schedule.
I have amazing memories of dancing with my sorority sisters, laughing at each other’s zombie-like dance moves as the hours pass, storming the stage during Fatboy Slim’s “Rockafeller Skank”, and singing verbatim my two biggest pump-up jams, “Semi Charmed Life” and “(I Will Walk) 500 Miles”, and because I am so satisfied with these amazing memories, I choose to dwell on those this weekend instead of thinking too much about the fact that I’m taking my fourth and heralded year off from the dance floor.
In the meantime, though, I am sending all my good vibes to my friends who are dancing this year and making even more great memories! I can’t wait to see the photos later.
Megan At Large 