Pep Rally

Last Friday there was a pep rally at school at the end of the day for Thon. Thon is a take off of Penn State's Dance-a-thon, where students raise money by staying awake all night dancing, playing and having fun. Apparently, it is a really big deal around here. Our school collects money for cancer research, and as part of the pep rally, they had a family whose son has benefitted from the funds raised by Thon speak. Even before the dad walked up to the microphone, I was already impressed by how spirited and well behaved the students actually were. The gym packed full of teenagers fell to a hush as the father spoke about his youngest son's battle with cancer. I tried to fight back the tears but my heart was aching listening to their story. Chills ran over my body when the dad declared his son was now cancer free. The kids cheered and appauled giving them a standing ovation. The clapping continued as the family left the gym. I was moved and once again reminded that kids are really good at heart.