This year, I am a senior in high school. Many of the activities I have participated in have become my last: my last first day of school, my last football game, and more recently, my last homecoming. Although barely through the second quarter of the school year, it is already beginning to hit that these events are the final I will attend; If I do not go now, it is not as if I can go next year because there will not be the next year. This is it. 

I intended to take full advantage of this being my final dance. I commenced the usual pre-homecoming activities: I got all dressed up and went to an aesthetically pleasing location to take pictures with friends. I enjoyed striking different poses with us all looking our best and admiring how good we all looked. Homecoming offered the perfect excuse to do so. 

The dance floor itself was undoubtedly the best part. I was a part of various dance circles throughout the night, my friends and I all gathering and hyping each other’s dance moves up one by one. Even people none of us knew would join the circle, but we would continue to hype them up nonetheless. Towards the end of the night, a congo line formed, and joining was one of the best decisions I made that night, as everyone was so excited and lively in the line that positive energy spread and enhanced the experience. In past years, when I may have decided to just stay with who I knew, I decided to do things I would not usually do, and it paid off. While many may have hated on the silent disco feature of the dance that took place in the gym, I actually really enjoyed myself, and now have the honor of saying I have attended a silent disco, a feat many probably could not before the dance. 

I will be one of the first to admit that homecoming is not as dreamy as one may see in the movies. The dance floor was loud and crowded, and I often bumped into people, most of which had become sweaty and smelly from the slightly humid weather and tight proximity. I was a bit disappointed with some of the choices the DJ made, such as playing songs that were hard to dance to and cutting songs that I did find danceable and short. Throughout the night, high heels were found stuffed in safe corners as many, including myself, had to take them off to alleviate themselves of the pain they cause. While not without its faults, in a way, these shortcomings contribute to the experience as a whole. Despite the DJ’s decisions, it was fun to beg them to play Taylor Swift, and when they eventually did, we went wild. 

All in all, I am glad I went to this year’s homecoming. A key mantra I have been following throughout my senior year is to participate in as much as possible, because before I know it, I may not get the chance to. Everyone has different perceptions of what the “high school experience” should be, but at the end of the day, I believe it is all about seizing every opportunity one finds in front of themselves and making the most of it. This includes events I may not initially find appealing or events I find myself not enjoying. I do it all for the memories these moments are guaranteed to bring along with them. So go to your homecoming, because before you know it, it may be your last.