Homecoming- Where memories are made.....

Waking up with clammy hands, butterflies in my stomach, and a haze in my mind, I was sure I was sick. But no! I was just excited for my perfectly planned homecoming weekend. I had studied extra hard the entire week, just so that I could have a little breather for the weekend. Oh, finally it was Friday! Feet bouncing, hair waving, I got out of the bus after school on Friday afternoon, just a day before the special day and started running to my best friend. We had planned for this for so long, and our dream was finally coming true.

HOCO, (Homecoming) was finally here!

I had created our HOCO group chat a week before, my 6 friends and I coordinating venues for dinner and photos. We had finally decided on a beach park, with the water reflecting our radiating smiles and gorgeous dresses. I had picked out my dress weeks in advance, following the school homecoming theme this year. It was Starry Night, inspired by Van Gogh’s beautiful and famous painting. My dress was made of pink and white sparkly sequins, strapless on one end with a full-length sleeve on the other. It also had feathers and jazzy crossover. I’d been excited for it to come since my birthday in September, picturing myself walking down the stairs with my hair and makeup all set, looking and feeling so much older and mature. That special feeling is something I will never forget.

These dances for me are a chance to dress up and feel so pure and special as if you’re floating a foot above the ground and gliding on radiance. I’m usually a full of life person, and aspire to be this mature, confident self as I grow up. It’s common to find teenagers in dresses and suits all over the town during the weekends of late September to Early October. Everyone’s celebrating their homecoming dance from different schools as they pose with their dates or go to dinner with friends.

Another special attribute of the dance is the football game the night before Saturday, the Homecoming Day. Everybody follows the theme for the game and enjoys the night with their friends. This year, the theme was whiteout. Wearing my white jeans and fluffy white jacket, I was off to celebrate the night, waiting in anticipation for the dance tomorrow. Walking around in the rain during the game, taking 0.5 selfies, and trying to find other people from school are some core memories I’ll always remember about high school. There’s this anticipation in which people stand on the bleachers, waiting for our home team to touchdown. The echoing sounds of the cheer team getting us chanting the school cheer as a roar that passes through the stadium, oscillating like a huge wave as our team finally scores a goal is like an old film running in my mind, the dust clearing itself up from the longing and waiting I’ve had for this moment. Oh, how I love this season, so many people from school emitting a bubble of excitement for the upcoming weekend.

Another thing I wait so eagerly for are all the proposals we get to see as we get closer and closer to the date of the dance. The guys so sweetly make a poster asking the girl to be their date to the dance, offering flowers and chocolates as they stand on the table and announce it to the whole world or as they sing her a song. I love the energy of all the people as they clap the guy on their back and whistle as he asks her if she will be his HOCO date and she replies yes! It sets a vibe in the school, encouraging people to stand in the long lines to get the tickets, pick out their outfit, and finally, get ready for the dance.

Waking up on Saturday morning, I started dancing around my room, in an adrenaline rush even at 7 in the morning. I couldn’t go back to sleep due to my excitement, so I decided to go join my dad to watch the India-Pakistan match in the World Cup. Sitting on the couch, my best friend’s messages popped up on my phone, sent at 2 am in the morning because she couldn’t sleep either. Chatting with her parallel to watching the match, it was the perfect start to the day, the players matching my energy as they represented the hopes and dreams of India and won the match. After a hurried and forceful breakfast due to the butterflies in my stomach, I promptly sat down to study. I had made a schedule for the day, having targeted to finish at least 3-4 hours of studying before getting ready. It was a difficult task to accomplish in my state, but I persevered and managed to get everything done by 2:30pm. As I sat down to get my hair and makeup done after the shower, I smiled enthusiastically at myself in the mirror, straightening my hair and putting on highlighter. As I slipped into my dress and out on my earrings, I felt magical. I was so happy with how the look turned out that my cheekbones started hurting due to my wide smile.

As my best friend came over, both of our expressions reflected the other’s due to the gorgeous dresses we wore. Sitting in the car on our way to the beach park, we couldn’t stop iterating the plan, going over the smallest details and the poses we would make for the photos. As we stood there at the park as a group of 7, I felt so happy and confident that I truly got the meaning behind carpe diem. Seize the day was the right term for this exact moment and feeling we were all having. Walking into the restaurant for dinner, slipping just slightly in our heels, we sat there like young adults, ordering and paying on our own.

Reaching the dance was an entirely different thing. Gathering our heels and inflicting torture but happiness on our poor legs, we strode up to the gate and handed our tickets to them. OMG we were finally in! The loud music started vibrating throughout my body, my pulse matching the beat as I swayed to the music. Running to the center of the dance floor, we started jumping and dancing and met all our other friends. Everyone was looking so beautiful and mature in their heels and dresses, and I was so thankful to be able to enjoy this moment with them. There were twinkle lights, and snacks and so many paintings of “The Starry Night” everywhere that it was a lot to take in. It was a worthwhile experience, and I would hands down do it all again. Taking pictures at the photo booth, dancing along with the music and singing at the top of our lungs to the songs we knew were some of the highlights.

It was such a nice experience after almost one and a half months of studying and preparing for tests since school started. It was nice to see everyone at my home high school after a long time and spending so much time with my friends. I believe these events are some of the most cherished memories of our high school life and I’m glad I got to be a part of the fun for the past two years. Here’s to enjoying more of these events together. - Navaka

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