As a senior who has attended both an indoor and outdoor Homecoming dance, I believe I am qualified to give an unbiased review of the ever-loved fall tradition.
When a CHS student imagines fall festivities at the high school, the two main events to come to mind are likely Cougar Weekend and Homecoming. Now, I’m not a sports fan, so Cougar Weekend remains a mystery to me. Homecoming, however, is something that I am familiar with. We’ve all seen those classic 2000’s movies where Homecoming is portrayed as a magical experience. Even as an elementary schooler, I imagined what my very first school dance would be like. But growing up, I’ve realized that many of the things we look forward to may not be the actual events, but rather the ideas of them.
Last year, my outdoor Homecoming night was filled with complaints of barely being able to feel my hands and “why is Hoco outdoors?”—but to my surprise, I actually miss the atmosphere of it in retrospect. Cramming four grade levels of students into one gym just was not my idea of fun. I miss the warm apple cider and chicken tenders that kept us from freezing in the parking lot, and I envied the cool air we had all complained about. The only plus this year was the photo booth, which I took full advantage of.
As I was feeling squished between multiple sweaty bodies in the dark AB gym, music blasting at an uncomfortable decibel level, I wondered what the appeal of Homecoming was.
We yearn to dress up and don ties, dresses, and uncomfortable high heels, all for the extravagance of it. But at the end of the night, blazers are rumpled and shrugged off, makeup sweated off, and barefoot girls become a common sight within the halls of CHS. All of that effort, just to be stuck in a dark and cramped gym.
Before I say more, I have to admit that I did have fun at my final Homecoming dance. I enjoyed the days leading up to the event and hanging out with friends.
But I think that key to my ability to enjoy myself were the people I surrounded myself with. Being able to dress up outside of the norm probably added some excitement as well, though I think the laughs I shared with my friends are what truly catapulted the dance from its status as an unpalatable function to a memorable evening which I’ll one day look back upon with nostalgia.
So if you’re planning on attending Homecoming next year, enjoy it not for the dance, but for the people you’re there with. The four years you’ll spend here will be short, so savor them!
