THON is only 10 days away, but you probably already knew that. Other than the natural inclination to check your calendar three times a day, there are plenty of signs all around campus that the big weekend is almost here. Here are just a few of them:

1. Personal pledges are popping up – It’s inevitable during this final month. Volunteers start making personal pledges to donate X amount of money for X amount of likes, retweets, or favorites. It’s one of those hard-to-miss kind of things if you’re on Twitter and follow even a few Penn Staters.

If you are really desperate to avoid the personal pledges, Google Chrome does offer you some help with its extension that filters out keywords, even if that keyword is ‘donate.’ Or, you can just embrace it and use PSUPledge.

2. Guys with shaved heads are in – You’ll probably start to notice a lot of guys in your class have gone bald. As much as every guy admires the Rock, this haircut statement is most likely FTK. There are some awesome charities like No Hair Don’t Care that you can support with a swift shift of a buzzer, and the bald head next to you might just be evidence of that.

3. Profile pictures are changed daily – As you scroll through your Facebook timeline to catch up on the last 10 minutes you missed walking from class to class, you’ll probably start to notice that everyone is changing their profile picture to their favorite shot at the BJC last year– or the year before that, or the year before the year before that. And don’t forget the inspirational quotes that are sure to follow. No matter what the change to the profile, it is probably in the spirit of THON.

4. Everyone is a THON billboard – Whether they’re sporting the new THON logo or their org’s t-shirt, you’ll be sure to realize how many people around you are involved in the yearlong effort (or just bought a shirt because they’re really compelled to kind of be included to avoid a serious FOMO). This definitely doesn’t dismiss all of the tutus and hot loops worn around campus. Whatever you’re into.

5. Philanthropy is in the air – As contagious as that dumb “love” thing is around this time of year especially with Valentine’s Day approaching– the love of THON is just as desired. Whether it’s spending every dinner at a Panda Express fundraiser or every date that was bought at an org’s date auction, THON is utterly unavoidable.

6. THON videos are your viewing preference – Although it’s usual for you to avoid your homework by doing almost anything else, you just might have picked up on how many nights you’ve spent watching last year’s THON recaps and crying from the inspirational speeches. If it’s not that, than it’s spent making dancer mail to send up to the third floor of the HUB where mail call has taken over. Either way, you’re not doing your homework.

7. Everyone’s “on a diet” or “sworn off caffeine” – So,there you are, sitting in your room, just wishing you had that gallon of Creamery ice cream or that box of Brother’s pizza. You ask your friend to go make the trek to grab some grub with you, but your friend is “on a diet” now. Maybe a cup or two, or seven, of coffee tomorrow? Nope. Sworn off caffeine. Every. Single. One. of your friends. THON is most definitely coming.

8. Captain Appreciation Week has taken over – With all of your friends on committees, your Instagram is starting to blow up more than usual with some insanely awful pictures of these random people you don’t know. Every week is a new THON Captain’s Appreciation Week now.

9. Moralers and Dancers are paired – Now that the dancers are chosen, it’s time for them to be assigned their new best friend for 46 hours. When they first meet, everyone has to know about it, and everyone does know about it. You are new best friends, and you’re not afraid to let anyone know it.

10. All of your conversations revolve around THON – Just as this entire post has shown, all everyone thinks and talks about is THON weekend right around this time of year. And why wouldn’t they? It’s the most inspirational and motivational weekend of the year every year, and the one weekend that changes your life each time it happens. If you haven’t done so already, soak up the next 10 days as the countdown to the best weekend of the year continues. After the weekend is over you have to wait a whole year to experience the tell-tale signs that THON is approaching– appreciate it while it lasts.