When I entered Havoc on Sunday night, I was a real Scrooge, (actually, I was Marilyn Monroe, but it’s what’s inside that counts). I cared about the competition for the purpose of winning.

The other competitors must have thought similarly. They were all careful to not give too much of themselves away, hiding their weaknesses in fear of being voted out of the competition.

Being cramped in a van with 14 other people with all less than four hours of sleep must have enlightened me a little bit (and maybe them, too).

I woke up on Monday morning with the heart of a greedy old man, ready to hound people for money throughout the day.

However, asking for donations and being turned down time and time again turned out to be more tiring than anticipated. My competitive spirit was weak at the end of the day. I had raised one of the smallest sums of money.

The next day, I chose to pour my heart and soul into change. I didn’t eat, nap, or study because all I wanted to do was raise funds for my charity. I raised one of the largest amounts of money on the second day of the competition. I finally managed to make myself an equal to my other historical figures.

I was eliminated from Havoc on Tuesday night because of my creative competition scores. The Marilyn Monroe in me was gone, but so was the Scrooge.

I really had just hoped for one more chance to raise money, but this time it was not about me winning Havoc, and more about raising a substantially sized donation for my charity, the charity that I had chosen simply because of my personal connection with the issues of domestic violence and sexual assualt that it fought against.

I realized shortly after the end of the competition that I was glad to have raised so much money for my charity and was only disappointed in being kicked out because it meant I couldn’t elicit any more donations from my fellow students.

I believe that other contestants throughout the week also had the true spirit of Havoc visit them. The group this year decided in the beginning to vote out the people who had raised the least money each day. This allowed for the contestants who could raise the most money to raise more for their charities over the week. It also allowed the top fundraisers to be rewarded at the end of the competition with the prize money from FUSAB.

I hope that someday you will also be visited by the spirit of Havoc.