March Madness

As I walked into Braden Auditorium I was filled with surprise to see that it was packed to the brim with thousands of people, all crammed together in the dark and very hot area. On Saturday, March 24th, I attended a campus event called March Madness. This is an event hosted by the sorority, Chi Omega, and is a philanthropy event in order to raise money for the Make-A-Wish foundation. This is a fundraiser in which many of the Greek life participants create and choreograph dances and compete against other sororities and fraternities to win the title. March Madness began with a brief description of why we were all there and where the proceeds were going. A young girl from the Bloomington area arrived on the podium and explained to us her story. This 16-year old girl has suffered multiple surgeries and spent ever year holiday of each year in a hospital trying to recover from an illness that has affected her spinal cord. It was deeply moving and everyone in attendance responded with a well-deserved standing ovation for the young girl. In addition, I inquired, and was happy to find out, that all of the tickets were sold and every seat was occupied. In this dance competition, there was one requirement of each team, and that was to make the music to your dancing follow the theme of "Opposites Attract." Each dance should be composed of two musical artists of different genre. After an excruciatingly intense competition, the winners were crowned. The winning sorority was Gamma Phi Beta, who did the clashing theme of Barbie and Space Jam, and the winning fraternity was Sigma Epsilon, whose theme was composed of Luke Bryan songs, and the artist Nelly. All of the money raised at this philanthropy event was donated to the Make-A-Wish foundation, providing kids with a chance to have small wishes fulfilled that are impacted by serious diseases in their lives. I was happy to be a part of the event with my sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, and am proud to say that I contributed to the Make-A-Wish foundation. I left the event with a new found respect for those people who struggle with disabilities and the realization to never take small things for granted in life. This event was a big eye-opener and a fun experience for family, friends, and supporters of the Make-A-Wish foundation to attend.