Dancemarathon.com defines Dance Marathon as, "A nationwide movement at more than 150 schools, all raising money for the Children's Miracle Network Hospital in their community." Yet, that is a very formal definition. Let me paraphrase it for you: Dance Marathon is the best day of your life. It is. Don't argue.

The day before, the day of, and the days after are a roller coaster of emotions, but it in the end you wouldn't trade it for the world. Here is the emotional journey, also known as Dance Marathon, also known as the Best Day of Your Life, in GIFS:

Before the Marathon:

Your Facebook, Twitter, and every social media account with your name on it has a link to your personal donation page plastered all over it. How else is great aunt twice removed going to know to donate?

You try to get everyone you have ever met to sign up.

Your roommate, your next door neighbor, all of your Greek house, your roommate's chemistry lab partner, I mean everyone. We all are friends here.

But there is someone who always says that Dance Marathon,"Isn't their thing."

Since when is not helping sick kids your thing??

When you see the new Dance Marathon merchandise for the year it is a constant battle of one part of you saying, "I don't want it," but the other part saying, "I don't want it. I need it."

I mean you always need another neon fanny pack with FTK on it.

Receiving an email that someone made a donation on your behalf is like experiencing a mini Christmas.

Every. Single. Time.

Then it comes to the final hours before the Marathon, and you're still so many dollars away from your goal.

It's go time.

Day of the Marathon:

You wake up. You're bright eyed and bushy tailed. It's that DM Day.

The costume prep begins.

It's not who about who raised the most money; it's about who has the best costume (or costumes).

Seeing the Line Dance for the first time is an emotional experience.

Outsiders can't, and will not, understand.

Then, when the Miracle Makers, or the children you're dancing for, speak and they so much as glance at you then you fan girl (or guy) for a bit.

I mean these are the kids you are dancing for.

You start learning the line dance, and you think you look like this:

But you actually look like this:

You feel the need to live Tweet, Instagram, Facebook, and MySpace every waking moment of this glorious event.

FTK, an acronym for "For The Kids" is chanted at every possible second, at any possible moment, for any possible scenario.

Before you know it, you're halfway there, but you don't want to be halfway there. The fun just started.

Your lack of sleep from the night before starts to kick in. You were too excited to sleep.

Once again, it was like living another mini Christmas.

At this point, your feet go numb. Your legs are beginning to go numb. Everything goes numb.

You're immune to pain.

The end is in sight, and one can not deal.

Then, the time for the final reveal comes. Excitement can, and will not, be contained.

.

Seeing the reveal of how much your school raised, you can only think one thing:

Time for one last line dance, and you know, oh you know, you gave everything leading up to that moment your all.

After the Marathon

All you can think abut is how much fun you just had. And all the memories. And how good that speaker was. And how much you loved the line dance. And how excited you are to sit.

You feel a part of your identity is taken away with each piece of your costume you remove.

Right after the last piece of your costume comes off, PDMD (Post Dance Marathon Disorder) sets in.

No one around you understands what is going on, and what you're going through.

Simply put, it's an emotional time.

As they say, time heals all wounds.

Then one day, you're out and about, and one of the songs from the line dance comes on. You must do the moves.

Then, you must tell everyone around you did Dance Marathon and this very song was in your line dance.

And then you realize, without a doubt, you simply cannot wait to do it all again next year.