Near the end of football season, schools usually hold a celebration called homecoming. Usually, the celebrations last a week and it features all sorts of fun activities such as dress up days, a parade, a homecoming dance, and of course, the big football game. Often the former students of the school will come back to watch the big game, hence the name “homecoming”. It is usually very fun.

Homecoming festivities usually kick off with spirit week.[2] These are days when teachers and students can come to school dressed up in a fun costume[3] to fit with the theme of the day. Once we had “Backwards Day” where students could wear their clothes backwards. Another time we had “Dress as a Famous Person Day” and all around school you saw people dressed as Lady Gaga, Harry Potter, and many more. What made my day[4] was seeing my Science teacher dressed up like Albert Einstein.

This is also time for people to start campaigning[5] for Homecoming King and Queen. Boys and girls are nominated by their peers to form the Homecoming Court consisted of 12 girls and 12 boys.[6] Students will usually nominate those that are involved in school activities, have good grades, and girls that are pretty and boys that are handsome.

During my freshman[7] year, something really touching happened. A girl named Erica really wanted to be Homecoming Queen, but she didn’t know what to do. You see, Erica suffers from a disease called Down syndrome. This is caused by a genetic mutation and causes slow mental and physical growth, as well as affecting many other factors such as her speech.[8] But the student body was very supportive of Erica’s goal to win Homecoming Queen.[9] Not only was she nominated, but the other girls also campaigned for her to win.

They described her as “a ray of sunshine” and found her to be “an inspiration” because she was always so positive[10] about everything. When she was asked how her day was Erica would always respond “Amazing!” She ended up winning Homecoming Queen that year. It was certainly touching to see that these girls would give up such an honor to help out a classmate.

The Homecoming Queen and King are announced on the Friday of homecoming week during halftime of the big football game.[11] It is the end of the celebrations and the previous graduates of the school can come and watch the festivities. The marching band will also perform during the halftime break. After the game, there is a homecoming dance where the students come together to celebrate and party. Sometimes the dance lasts until midnight!

The other festivities of homecoming often take place during the school day. Classes are cut short so that the entire school can partake[12] in these activities. For my school, the school holds a pep rally, or an assembly, on Thursday afternoon.[13] This is to get the students excited about the upcoming[14] football game. The cheerleaders will do their routines, the band will play pep songs, and the principal will say a few words to recognize the football players.[15]

On Friday afternoon classes are usually dismissed at noon so that the school can attend the homecoming parade. Again, the cheerleaders will cheer, the band will play, and the football players will ride around in a truck. After this, clubs will hold booths[16] around the school so students may take the afternoon to do what they wish.