On September 26, 2015, SHG students traveled to the city of lights to dance and celebrate the beloved football team’s homecoming win. The night was filled with snapchat stories and makeup touch-ups. Homecoming is the one night of the year (besides prom, of course) when we all gather together, looking our best, to pose for photo ops and dance our troubles away.
For most girls, the preparation for homecoming begins around noon. However, some girls start even earlier. Grace Bentel, an SHG freshman, said, “I got my nails done at 10:00 a.m., but I didn’t do my hair or get dressed until 2:30.” For guys, the getting ready process is different. The hours of waiting to get ready and not being sure of what to do can be awkward. Jake Melton, an SHG senior, told me, “I started getting ready about a half hour prior to homecoming.”
Once everyone is feeling glamorous and suitable for dancing, the next step in homecoming is finding the venue for taking pictures and a place to eat afterwards. SHG students took pictures and ate all over the city of Springfield. Lexi Osowski, a SHG sophomore, said, “I took pictures at Panther Creek, but there weren’t a lot of places at Panther Creek to take pictures, but before the dance I ate at Panther Creek and it was pretty good.” Another popular venue for taking pictures is Washington Park. It’s a classic when it comes to formal pictures. Sydney House, a SHG junior, said, “I got pictures taken at Washington Park and I loved it because it was just a group of friends so we could get goofy and the weather was perfect so the pictures turned out awesome. We ate at Olive Garden before the dance.”
After the selfies have been posted and appetites have ceased, it’s finally time for the homecoming dance. The dance was held at the East building of SHG at 8:00 p.m. Students lined up with their best friends and dates to enter the dance. The gymnasium was where all of the dancing happened. The gymnasium was covered in festive lights and Parisian decorations. Students spent the night taking more pictures, dancing like no one was watching (even though 
everyone was), and admiring how phenomenal everyone looked.
Later in the evening, SHG royalty history was made. Homecoming court presented themselves and it was finally time for crowning. Being on homecoming court is an incredible honor as a senior. Clare Lansden, a SHG senior on homecoming court, said, “It was a great honor to be on court with some of the nicest and caring people in this school.” As the night faded, we finally crowned Tony Qiu as our king and Theresa Shaff as our queen. Sophomore, Lexi Osowski, commented, “My favorite part about the dance this year was when Tony won. It was good to see the school welcoming and supporting international students.”
Homecoming night was filled with laughs and new memories of being a cyclone. It was a time for the students to let go and have a night devoted to having fun. Sydney House states, “My favorite part about homecoming was just being with all my friends and not worrying about being crazy or goofy.” That is what homecoming is all about, having fun and celebrating your school. Now that homecoming is over, is it time to plan for prom yet?
Campus Crier Online 