Designer: Hayden Crone
One week each year, the ordinary school routine is replaced with something a little more colorful. Hallways become decorated, students dress up for spirit days and excitement builds toward a jam-packed weekend. Girls hang their dresses as they stress out over picture plans and dinner reservations, while guys sit back and wait as they only take 15 minutes to get ready.
Homecoming may look a little bit different for everyone; however, its traditions all share one common theme: bringing students together and creating memories that will last long after the celebration ends.
“My favorite part about homecoming is getting ready with my friends and getting to see everyone’s dresses,” junior Adeline Mcjunkin said.
One tradition is homecoming proposals. This is when the guy or girl asks their partner or friend to be their homecoming date.
“I’ve never been asked to homecoming, but I love seeing everyone’s signs,” sophomore Amara Savla said.
The weekend starts with the famous Friday night football game. At the high school, the homecoming court is announced before the game. Right after, the stands are filled with cheers, excitement and fun as the football game kicks off a loaded weekend.
“My favorite tradition is commentating the homecoming football game. I’ve done it for the past two years, and getting to see everyone get hyped, especially since everyone is in a great mood,” junior Evan Benua said.
For most, the night of homecoming can be a blur. Pictures at 4 p.m., dinner at 5 p.m. and homecoming at 7 p.m. The planning for homecoming may or may not be the most stressful part. Disagreements on times, changing plans last minute or not correctly communicating the plans are all stages in planning for homecoming.
“Making homecoming plans can be stressful, and there are several things to consider, incorporating into plans for the day and the weeks leading up to the dance,” senior Mackenzie Byrnes said.
First is getting ready, a common tradition for many girls. Normally, the girls will meet at someone’s house to eat breakfast, make flower bouquets and do their hair and makeup together, while the boys spend most of their time waiting until the last minute to get ready.
“My favorite part of the weekend is probably getting ready at my friend’s house beforehand. We make a ton of TikTok transitions, and we always have a big breakfast bar with a bunch of different food. It’s a blast, and everyone enjoys it,” sophomore Kelly Le said.
After getting ready, comes taking pictures. Friends will meet up at a designated spot and spend about 20 to 30 minutes taking lots of pictures, only to find two or three that they like.
“I’m very excited to take pictures; however, it’s very stressful to plan out when and where we are going to take pictures. I like to look at TikToks of picture inspirations before we go because then it takes us less time to take pictures since we already have our poses planned out,” sophomore Kendall Hoffmanbeck said.
Next on the agenda, which is arguably the boys’ favorite part about homecoming, is dinner. Friends will meet up to enjoy a meal and laughter before they make their way to homecoming.
“My friends and I are going to Carfagna’s, which is a really good Italian restaurant. We are all very excited because they have amazing food,” freshman Kamdyn Shondell said.
Last is the most important part of the night: the homecoming dance. Boys and girls come together to spend an enjoyable time laughing and socializing as the school is turned into a whole other world. This year, the homecoming theme is Midnight in Manhattan, which was picked by the Sophomore Class Cabinet.
“Behind the scenes of choosing the theme, we spend a lot of time deciding what is trending and what would make the most sense for the theme. We chose Midnight in Manhattan because it’s a unique theme that many can enjoy,” Sophomore Class Cabinet member Naomi Wong said.
For every person, homecoming traditions are a little bit different. But in the end homecoming brings lots of different people together to celebrate a night of fun.
Be the first to comment