I have never run a marathon before and I’ll probably never have to. Instead, I’ll keep dancing them.

March 24 started off as any other day. I woke up early, got ready for the day, and ventured off to begin a 26.2 hour Dance Marathon that the University of Florida was about to begin. Yeah, that’s where the normalness of my day immediately ended. I was incredibly anxious and stressed about my 26.2-hour journey.

Quite frankly, I didn’t know how I was going to be able to do it. I love to sit, I honestly take it for granted. I love to sleep, I close my eyes whenever I get a second. If you combine both of those factors together and subtract the fact that I was not able to sit and I was not able to sleep, it was simply a disaster waiting to happen.

I didn’t think I would be the person to fall in love with Dance Marathon like so many others had. I thought it would be an experience, just simply an experience. I didn’t expect to walk out of the O’Connell center feeling any different than I had when I walked in the day before. I was incredibly wrong.

Throughout the 26.2 hour marathon that I ventured on, I quickly learned about the cause I was fighting for. Yes, I helped raise money throughout the entire year for the kids, but I really never stopped to think about what it all meant. As family after family came in to share the stories of their children, it all hit me.

These were the kids I was fighting for. These were the families I was raising all this money for. It all finally made sense. It all actually meant something to me. I was taken back by the words that these families had to share with the hundreds of us flooding the floor of the O’Connell Center. I felt a change.

So, I kept dancing. I never really understood how much I loved to sit until I couldn’t sit at all. The pain I was enduring was like none other, and the bags under my eyes were designer like you couldn’t believe. I was tired, I was aching, I was numb, but I wasn’t going to stop fighting.

So many people have told me that the end of the marathon is where the pain hits you the worst. And, they were absolutely right. The pain was almost unbearable towards the end but, somehow, I was able to push through it up until the very end. The support from my family and friends to keep pushing myself was really what I needed and, the piggyback rides from my friends didn’t hurt either.

In 2017, the University of Florida’s Dance Marathon raised a little over 2 million dollars. This year, we raised a little over 3 million dollars all for the kids. I was a part of a movement that is going to help change the lives of so many children who need it. I was able to participate in something bigger than myself. And for that, I am forever grateful.

Up until March 24, I felt completely lost on everything I was passionate about. I have been in college for almost a year now, and haven’t been able to find that one thing that I really love. But, after this weekend, I can confidently say that I now know and have found what I love.

My mission for the next three years and beyond is to keep fighting for those who can’t fight their own fight. In this case, it was a fight to make over 3 million miracles happen all for the kids. I am making a promise to myself to fight the fight that so many others don’t have the chance to do.

This year we raised 3 million dollars, and I know next year we can do even better. Dance Marathon meant more to me than anything else I have done this year. I got closer to my friends, and I learned that it is worthless to take things for granted. At the end of the day, if you have the people you love close to you, that is all that really matters.