It's about that time. Girls are shopping for that perfect dress. Guys are thinking about their dates. Girls are planning what to do with their hair, nails, and makeup. Guys are listening to them worry in confusion. Girls are freaking out about which group they want to be seen with. Guys are sitting back, watching. Girls are worrying. Guys are confused. Yep, it's Homecoming. (Dramatic music plays).
I am not a big Homecoming person. I don't really like the hype, the rules (SG is wildly uptight about homecoming), the fights over dates, the drama.
My opinion on the matter is this: girls spend way too much time worrying about themselves--how will I look, how will I dress, how will people think of me, etc.--that they never really have fun.
I overhear girls talking about homecoming and try REALLY hard not to roll my eyes when one says, "Well, I'm wearing a short dress, which means people will be able to see my toes, which means now I have to get a pedicure, which I think will only cost about 30 bucks." People will see your toes so you have to spend $30 on something you can do yourself??
When girls go to homecoming, they're so worried about how they look that they never bother to look at anyone else. And for the most part, only girls pay attention to things like manicures, pedicures, and makeup. And if girls are too busy worrying to pay attention, then it's not like anyone else is noticing...they're all too busy thinking the same things!
Maybe I'm just a bit cynical, but I find nothing about the homecoming dance magical. Don't get me wrong, I like dressing up. I like going out to eat with my friends. I like going to a friend's house after and staying up all night. But it seems to me you could almost skip the dance part and have a lot more fun.
I can see both sides of the argument. On one hand, some people go the whole nine yards and get ridiculous. Limos to the school? Thousand-dollar dresses? Please. You're going to go sweat in a gym for three hours.
On the other hand, Homecoming's simply fun. I'm not really the type to beautify that much, so I get a kick out of dressing like a celebrity and spending money I don't need to spend to look pretty once or twice a year. And I disagree about girls not paying attention to anyone else. At least at my school, the girls always admire what they like about other outfits and updos and exclaim over how pretty other people are.
When it all comes down to it, what do you do when you get there? Dance. If you like dancing, you'll have a good time. Even if you don't like dancing, you'll probably have a good time.
I just don't think it's worth the hype. At Spring Grove, the dance is the worst part of homecoming. The music is turned down so low only those near the speakers can hear it, girls aren't allowed to take off their shoes (as has been the tradition for oodles of years) and thus have numb feet by the end of the night, and the administrators walk around enforcing their "no crowdsurfing rules." No exaggeration necessary for those weirdos. I get trying to keep people safe, but the whole watching people thing gets a bit creepy.
But, I will say that if you're determined to have fun, I think it's possible. I'm just not big on that whole scene.