Brendan C. Quinn, February 24, 1999 (week after THON weekend) THON is a yearlong event: Thon is about learning who you are and what is important to you. Thon is a commitment. Thon is motivating unmotivated people. THON is soliciting: Thon is asking your family to help out these kids. Thon is going door to door. Thon is seeing a “No Soliciting” sign of front doors and not getting discouraged. Thon is getting a $100 donation from someone you have never met before. Thon is getting the door slammed in your face at the next house. Thon is people asking you to come inside from the cold while they fill out a pledge book. THON is canning: Thon is mass exodus from this campus with carloads of people going out to raise money in far away towns during canning weekends. Thon is packing too many people in a house with not enough beds. Thon is staying up late and getting up early. Thon is a busy intersection. Thon is dodging traffic to get the elusive $5 bill. Thon is the new BMW that passes you by and the 1978 Dodge Dart that gives you $1. Thon is loving the feeling of a can getting heavy with money in your freezing hands. Thon is eating fast food during breaks from the cold. Thon is getting kicked off of an intersection by a reluctant cop. Thon is counting thousands of dollars in small bills and change after a long day of canning. THON is people: Thon is why you don’t see some people for a few weeks. Thon is what they’re doing. Thon is the overall captains, who sacrifice more time and effort in one year than most do in a lifetime. Thon is people on the morale committee, who are willing to try to uplift complete strangers. Thon is what we really mean when we say, “We Are Penn State.” THON is dancing. Thon is meeting people. Thon is the line dance. Thon is playing catch with a football for four straight hours. Thon is people you don’t know putting stickers on you and making you happy. Thon is hearing Whitney Houston’s “My Love is Your Love” and going crazy. Thon is feeling like a little kid again. THON is pain. Thon is wanting to sleep and periods of boredom. Thon is the Rec Hall feeling like the size of a closet at times. Thon is your feet feeling like someone has hit them with a hammer. Thon is wanting to give up but knowing that you can’t. THON is the children. Thon is the spirit in these kids. Thon is the smile on a child’s face. Thon is seeing a child with a bald head and a big smile who makes you feel guilty for complaining your feet hurt. Thon is the Hershey Medical Center. Thon is the chemotherapy treatments that make these kids cry. Thon is the best doctors and nurses in the country comforting them. Thon is families who suffer much during the year. Thon is hearing their stories. Thon is the tears that you can’t hold back. Thon is these families thanking you for your help. Thon is what these kids look forward to all year. But most of all, THON is seeing real heroes. THON…For the Kids.
