To whom it may concern:
If you don't know me, my name is Joe, and I graduated in 2019, so more than half of you don't know me. The most rewarding thing I have ever done was serve as FOTO's fundraising outreach chair my junior year, donor relations chair & VP senior year, and dancer senior year, even though THON has systematically worked to undo everything I worked to improve (RIP canning, canvassing, ribbon sales, THONvelopes, and donation boxes). I just wanted to say how proud of each and every one of you I am, especially considering how weird of a year this must have been, the fact that each of you have worked so hard to keep FOTO as incredible as always is a testament to all of your commitment. Since I am not a big words person, and want to actually write more than a paragraph to force Paxton to stumble through it for a while, I am just gonna copy and paste something I wrote for THON mail, the year I danced below that I am hoping is still actually relevant for whatever version of THON is actually coming up.
When I think of THON, it comes down to these small moments. I have one small, simple, specific thing from each of my previous three THON’s that has really just stuck with me as a defining moment of why I love FOTO and what makes THON great beyond its mission. My first THON, it was Kendall Brodie coming up to me just to let me know that the upper classmen did not actually hate and actually really liked the pledges (they called a lot of the now Seniors pledges as a joke for about two years). Sophomore year it was Leslie Searles, approaching me just giving me a hug and saying thank you after I stayed the first twenty-some hours to help hold the section overnight. Last year, it was Olivia Hopkins, an alumnus I had probably met twice at most at this point, finding me on the concourse while I was pretty much in the middle of a complete breakdown just to give me a hug and say bye before she left Sunday morning. I struggle to remember a lot from previous THON’s, but these small, simple moments of kindness are what have stuck with me, and are the things I will never forget about my time with FOTO, because ultimately these little moments are what combine to be the most meaningful parts of life. Every game of knockout, water gun fight, nerf gun war, birthday party, 5k, etc. while it may seem like its just this trivial activity on the surface, make up the happy cancer-free memories of our THON children’s childhoods. They can just seem like these brief common decency things we do, but their impact is so much more.
So, this is what I hope for all of you. Use this weekend to start making these memories for yourself if you haven’t already. Take each and every opportunity you have to do something kind for the person standing next to you, and to appreciate whatever small act of kindness they show you. Everybody struggles at some point throughout THON weekend, but we hold each other up and get through it together. Take the time to know everyone in the stands with you. This is your FOTO family, and no matter where the rest of your 4 (or 5 it happens) years takes you, you will always be a part of it.
You have all have worked incredibly hard this year, and I am proud of what you helped FOTO to accomplish. You deserve to celebrate your work. I wish that you leave here with love for THON and cannot wait to see what you accomplish while I become an old ass alumnus, and you form your own small, unforgettable memories.
FTK,
Joe Dimp
P.S. Congratulations to Paxton, Maddie, Joe, Teen, Jordan, and Julia. I don't do Instagram, so I think I missed the post announcing you were the dancers.
