by Claire Carter | Editor-in-Chief
Pixie dust, trust, never growing up. These three typically don’t describe high school students on a Saturday night. But September 27, Johnson students will head off for a Night in Neverland as Homecoming traditions unfold. Pep rallies, theme dress week, a football game, and a dance will all center around the nostalgia we grew up loving.
Homecoming can be intimidating for underclassmen, who think the seniors won’t think they dance cool enough, or totally didn’t get the formal dress memo. But don’t fear, little ones, homecoming is an event for ALL grades. To the underclassmen: take advantage of homecoming. You won’t get prom until you make it to junior year, and you’ll regret it when the Monday after the dance everyone is talking about how great it was, and even though they sweat through their dress, it was the “Best Night Ever.”
Going single to homecoming is TOTALLY ACCEPTABLE. If you couldn’t tell from the all caps, let me lay it out for you. The love of your life may not barge into your second period class just a week before homecoming riding a horse and carrying your favorite flowers (pink roses with the thorns pre-cut), holding up a sign that says “Out of all the fish in the sea-I choose you.” But don’t be discouraged, one day you may have a date. If not, you’ll have 10 other friends to get a limo with and have a night full of memories-regardless of who put a flower on your wrist.
Homecoming brings not only anticipation but a load of stressful questions you don’t even have time to answer between checking your Instagram news feed and catching up on your Netflix binge series. Who’s going to be in my group? Where are we going to dinner? What are we going to do after the dance? What shoes do I wear (because I can’t be taller than my date)? Where can I find a cute dress?
Answering these questions may lead to a series of breakdowns or an explosion of texts from a group message. But trust me when I tell you- none of this is worth stressing about. Whether you end up at Olive Garden or Whataburger- you will eat some awesome food. Whether you end up in a group of 50 or a group of five- you will be with awesome people. And whether you end up with an Instagram post of “#GoneStag” or “#BestDateEver”- you will have an awesome time.
Homecoming is not a time to worry about who you will go with or if your experience is going to be as good as someone else’s. Homecoming is a time to be a part of a great tradition at our school. A football game where some people you voted for get to walk down on the football field wearing sashes that say “King” or “Queen,” mum and garter exchanges where you get to personalize a timeless craft for you best friends, a whole week where you are encouraged to dress like someone before their “What Not to Wear” makeover, and the fact that the whole school does it with you alone just shows how great this time of year is. So don’t worry about the little details of homecoming, all you need is a little faith, trust, and pixie dust.
