WGW: I Might Name My Firstborn Fetzer

In 2 days, Robert Allison Fetzer Hall will host the biggest party of the year yet again. In anticipation, rumination, and most importantly, celebration, allow me to take you on a photo journey of (a small part of) my Dance Marathon experience. And since I know he's going to immediately Command+F his name, Brendan Brendan Brendan Brendan.

Recruiting is an important part of what we do. We have 3 recruitment weeks every year and they are So. Much. Fun. You'd be surprised what you can learn about a person just by talking to them for an hour. Or sharing a bear costume. I don't have any actual statistics but I wanna say this look recruited tons of dancers.

We also dance in costumes. And in videos like this one.

Setting up for Dance Marathon involves hours upon hours of duct taping banners. After about 90 minutes you will lose most of your fingerprints but hey, now you're one step closer to leading a successful international life of crime. You're welcome.

Speaking of duct tape, I was in charge of the duct tape back in 2015. And that also meant I was in charge of calculating the total mileage of duct tape used. If you have no idea why that is important you can watch this video. Doing the complex multiplication required of me was too much and I had to rely on Brendan's superior mathematical abilities. So I purchased this math readiness workbook and luckily at Dance Marathon there is always a homework room for like-minded individuals who need to hit the books.

One of my personal favorite things about Dance Marathon is that it forces people to be friends with me. Like Chelsea here. I tried to be friends with Chelsea way back in 2011 during our first year of college. Chelsea was having none of it. Fast forward 3 years and we're on the same Exec Board. And just look at how thrilled she is to be friends with me now! You can run but you can't hide, future friends!

Sometimes, your committee members/friends/subchairs/exec board will make memes of you. And it's because they love you. Trust me. We're not a cult, we're a family. A family that acts like a cult. Also, for the record, trying to get coffee donated is super hard. Like harder than picking an Instagram filter and way harder than raising $150.

You may become the focal point of multiple memes. I just wanted a cute pic with my amazing subchairs but I kept getting radioed because I was so important. Life is hard. Another reason this picture took so long to capture...during the first take Kelly kept throwing mayonnaise packets at us because we had a ridiculous amount of that particular condiment. You know, just SNL stuff.

Also, I was visited by a dementor during the 2015 marathon. Who knew?

Confession time. I've been arrested for dancing.

Twice.

Dance Marathon was featured in the UNC yearbook in 2015 and maybe every other year, how would I know? Did you guys know that colleges had yearbooks? I had no idea and I'm IN the yearbook. I think that's what P!nk meant by "too school for cool."

The Dance Marathon (now Carolina For the Kids Foundation) office is were a lot of the action happens. It's where we studied when the libraries closed, where we napped when running a non-profit turned out to be pretty exhausting, where I proposed to Hunter and got a hard no. And in our office I even had my own office. Right by the trashcan.

Sometimes, if you're really, really lucky, someone will hand you a microphone and put you on stage! And I think the fact that I eventually gave that microphone back really proves my love for this organization.

Since I was kind enough to return the microphone in 2015, in 2016 they let me emcee with Jean-Luc and even painted us a banner. I felt like royalty. Emceeing the marathon had been my dream since I was a cute little 18-year-old attending her first marathon, hanging out in the squash courts and fangirling over DJ Ever.

Do you need another reason to participate in a Dance Marathon near you? We eat a lot of pizza. At the marathon, before the marathon, after the marathon. The good news is pretty girls don't pay for pizza. You can quote me on that. And as a dancer you will be provided with food every few hours, free of charge.

Another reason? Meeting incredible individuals. My involvement with Dance Marathon allowed me to take not 1, not 2, but SEVERAL selfies with Chancellor Carol Folt, my fashion icon. This woman is so kind, owns AND wears more than 3 outfits, has a permanent parking space on campus and has perfected the art of the selfie. She's basically my hero. Please note that my parents Sonya & Jean-Luc are so proud in the background.

My favorite freaks. The 2015 Exec Board. These guys are wonderful (foolish?) enough to still be my friends after an entire year of me treating the Pope Room like my own stand-up comedy show. BTW - guess where we parked? If you guessed right in front of this sign, you're right! And to think...this was taken BEFORE the night got weird.

This photo shows the most perfect human ever created...and me. That sentence took a turn didn't it? My "big" Hope has her own blog and it's everything this blog isn't. Professional, informative, thoughtful and elegant. When I include pictures it's due to a combination of sheer laziness and narcissistic vanity. Hope's pictures look like they're straight out of I'm a Professional Baker and a Professional Photographer Monthly which is a magazine I just made up. For an entire year I got to be "the new Hope" even though trying to achieve that level of excellency was hopeless.

And of course my fabulous committee members who were kind enough to recreate our epic committee dance in public with me. Kelly put down the mayonnaise packets for a night out with us.