Happy belated Homecoming, Penn State! The previous week here in State College was so much fun and I already cannot wait until next year’s homecoming week. If you missed it, here’s a recap of 2016’s homecoming, and here’s a recap of this year’s football game! The new homecoming experience got me reminiscing on all the previous hoco experiences I have had, and I thought I would share on this blog.
Penn State’s Homecoming 2017 theme was Embrace the Journey. Roar With Pride.
High School Homecomings are different, a lot different in my opinion. I feel like a homecoming football game is a constant anywhere and everywhere, and most schools (high school or college) make homecoming a week-long celebration of sorts. At my high school, our homecoming week was something we looked forward to from the start of the school year, and for one or two primary reasons. One, it meant that we were free from the constraint of a uniform for a whole week. And two, classes were cut short every day of the week.
‘Make a Wish’ child, Kevin
The week always had a theme, one that correlated to the charity that the money raised from the week would benefit. In the past, charities have been Wounded Warrior, Make A Wish, our school’s MiniTHON, and a local nursing home. Side note: The year that Make A Wish was our fundraising effort, a local little boy had his wish made at the homecoming football game. His dream was to play football in high school, so he got in a play and scored a touchdown during the game– it was so amazing!)
Dress down day wristbands were always sold for around twenty dollars the week prior to homecoming, and everyday at lunch periods, there would be a line out the door of the Activities Office for students to hand over their cash for such a coveted wristband. No uniform for a week in my school meant five days straight of sweatpants and t shirts- something my principle hated with all her heart, but Catholic school is notorious for marking everything with a price tag, so she dealt with it. Each day would have a themed dress down as well- such as America Day, Twin Day, Disney Day, etc. You were supposed to dress up in accordance with the theme, and it was just something fun to bond with our peers.
In addition to dressing in normal clothes for a while, there were also activities each day to garner excitement. Penny wars, costume contests, a talent show and pep rally, and other events meant that class times were mended so that learning that week was an after thought. Throughout the week, those students nominated for the homecoming court would campaign with treats and funny speeches and slogans they would announce at random in hallways, during classes, over the loud speaker, and in the cafeteria. The point is, homecoming week was in your face, and you could not get away from it.
LC Pep Rally
While homecoming at Penn State was great, and fun (as you can see on their website), it can be avoided if you really wanted to. But that’s what I am figuring out about college- you can be as involved or as removed as you want. Like most things in life, it’s all about what you make of it.
The Nittany Lion escorted Miss Pennsylvania 2017 Katie Schreckengast through the streets of Penn State and downtown State College during the 2017 Penn State Homecoming Parade.
I miss homecoming at my high school 🙁 We also used to have a spirit week where we’d have themes for each day. It was so fun dressing up as tacky tourists, or twin with your best friend. I’m still friends with a few people from my high school, and it seems like they upped their spirit week game since I left. They had denim day this year…and I would have killed to have been able to wear denim on denim for once. It’s too bold of a fashion statement for me to wear on a regular day.
I really enjoyed your blog post about homecoming because I would have never imagined how much I would miss about high school and homecoming week is definitely a big part of what I miss the most. Spirit week was also really fun in my school, even though we never had to wear uniforms, because it gave us the opportunity to really bond as a community and made the often stressful and tense environment light-hearted. We also had America Day and Twin Day! The dance was the event that ended out the week, and it was so much fun to get dressed up, take pictures, and just hang out/dance with all my friends. Although I missed out on Penn State’s homecoming parade, I did go to the Rutgers game which was a lot of fun. I was skeptical regarding if standing outside in the cold for the parade would be worth it, but based on your commentary, it seems like I missed out, so I will definitely make sure to check it out next year!