Before I start with this post, I apologize for not being able to post for the past month. It has been a busy month for me with numerous tests, festivals, and activities. But for today, I would like to write about the high school community, especially around homecoming.
Since it was my first year of high school, I didn’t know what to expect during the week of homecoming, though I knew it was going to be a huge thing; but nothing really prepared me for how the whole school revolved around it and its activities.
Float Parade
The first activity that started was float building. From a month or two before homecoming, the floats for each grade started getting constructed. Floats were displayed on the roads in a parade, which we actually got to walk in! Each year, there is a theme for homecoming, and this year it was mobile games. So, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), we got Among Us since we were the youngest class. Our class had to create a float with this theme. One side would be painted, while the other side would be made up of paper flowers and moving components.
The day before the parade, we mounted the floats onto trucks that would drive the parade route. Due to the parade, the police had to stop and redirect traffic to make sure that we were safe while walking the roads. In total, the parade was around 2.5 – 3 miles. We walked past two elementary schools that were even more excited than us about the parade. Even though my legs were really tired by the end of it, I could not have asked for a better experience.
Spirit Week Energy
The school schedule was also changed because of the parade. School started at 10 that day as opposed to the usual 8:45. And because they did not want the teachers the day before to get extra time to teach us, school had also started late the day before! It was really crazy to see how the school community revolved around the activities of this week. Also, because our teachers knew we would be busy, they refrained from assigning us too much homework, which I found really surprising. My usual convention of teachers is that they give the most homework on the busiest weeks for the students, so I was pleasantly surprised when we got minimal homework for a week.
During this time, the kids in school were also so pepped up and fun to talk to. Usually, when walking in the hallways, everyone is busy talking to their friends or they are walking idly, thinking about homework, but for this week, I actually had so many interactions with so many people. Since it was spirit week, we were all dressed up for the day, and people were appreciating each other’s outfits while passing. It was the most school spirit I had ever seen!
The Dance (and Football Game)
And then there was the dance. Everyone put in so much effort to get ready for this three-hour dance. The food was really good, since it also doubled as a club fundraiser. They were playing great music, and the vibes were overall very nice. My favorite part was getting ready for the dance and the football game the night before. The dance itself wasn’t that exciting (that might just be my opinion, though). My favorite part was actually the football game, which came the night before. The whole school was up and stomping their feet and cheering when we went to the fourth quarter and eventually overtime, when seconds before, everyone was completely silent and bored. Even the seniors present were saying that this was the most excited they had seen our school for any game. At the end, we won by a point because the other team missed the field goal.
My Takeaways
Overall, HOCO week was a great experience with the parade, football game, and dance. I will definitely do this again next year and try to be even more involved in the whole homecoming experience, whether it be float building or participating in more spirit days. The most important thing I learned from this is that it is essential to cherish these fun moments in your high school career and be as involved as you can, so you don’t regret it later. Homecoming showed me how fun high school can be if you are involved, so next year, I am definitely helping with the float from day one.
Strings of Thought 