Homecoming dances are a celebration of shared school spirit and community, including a whole week of lively dress-up days that allow students to express their creativity and enthusiasm, along with hosting special events before the day of the dance. 

     Throughout the week, I’d seen some interesting outfits and costumes as students participated in homecoming week. Monday, students pulled together their favorite college apparel. College Day wasn’t super exciting, as students often dress in college wear all year round, not just exclusively for spirit week. It was difficult to decipher who was and wasn’t participating, since college crewnecks or sweatpants are general clothing articles students wear in their daily lives. 

     The next day, Tuesday, was Halloween so of course the designated theme for the day was “Costume Day.” Surprisingly, tons of my peers dressed in their costumes in celebration of Halloween. Honestly, I thought that people would fall victim to the silly mindset, but I applaud those who were bold enough to disregard the judgment of others and decided to make the most out of this opportunity. 

     Personally, my favorite time of the school year is homecoming season because it means I can dress to express my school spirit in a way that is unique to me. Since my freshman year, I have liked to post and curate cute, short clips for my Instagram story highlights. Doing this helps me look back and remember the fun of my high school experience, as well as reminding me that making the most out of it goes a long way. 

     Often, there are pep rallies or parades to help engage students in participating and putting in their best effort to dress up for the dance. Plano hosted both events on Wednesday evening after school. Many clubs and organizations created a float to be showcased in the parade before heading into the gymnasium for the homecoming pep rally. 

     Both Wednesday’s and Thursday’s “Surf and Turf” and “Country vs Country Club” themes were classics. However, the only thing I noticed was that the majority of the school dressed in one of the two options presented to them. On Wednesday, tons of students sported jerseys to incorporate the “turf” theme, and on Thursday plaid flannel button-ups were the most common of the two. 

     Friday was reserved for mums and garters- positively my favorite spirit day. Everyone has the chance to express themselves and their creativity through their mum or garter, no matter what the designated school colors are or if they weren’t the ones necessarily making it. The decorations and ornaments dangling have an important semblance in who those people are and how they represent themselves. It’s a common Texas tradition to not only wear your mum/garter to school but also to the infamous homecoming football game that has the Plano community packing the stands.

     Last but certainly not least, is Saturday! The dance had students looking forward to a magical night and making lasting memories. Throughout the process of getting ready, I felt as though I was being rushed. As winter approaches, and the earlier the sun lowers in the day, my friends wanted pictures to be early before daylight faded and it became too chilly to withstand. So, after ending up being late to pictures, we had very little time to snap pics, although they did come out amazing. Dinner was good as the two of my friends and I reminisced on our past homecoming dances and our earlier memories before high school. Although 8 pm had arrived, we were still in the midst of eating, so we hadn’t entered the gymnasium doors until 9:30 pm. 

     The butterfly lights hung in the air around the artificial vines, casting a magical glow on faces of pure enchantment. Dance moves such as the Dougie, two-step, the jerk, and many more were bustling through the dance floor. Students upon students gathered around the DJ to showcase their dance skills and hyped each other up, regardless of knowing each other or not. Along the back wall of the gym was a long line for a photobooth-like camera. It’d countdown from ten all of three times to assemble a digital photo collage of the three snapshots it’d taken of those in the frame. 

     My friends and I stayed until the end of the dance, helping StuCo in cleaning the leftover trash, with one of my best friends being a member of Plano Student Congress. By the end of the night, my earrings were leaving an aching in my earlobes, the balls of my feet were throbbing, and my eyelids were close to shutting but it was all worth it because I was able to spend my junior homecoming with my two closest friends and had a great time surrounded by my peers.