Homecoming

HOMECOMING.  It has several different meanings, but for a teen, it is a "feel good" time, a time early in the school year when you get "all dressed up" and everything must be perfect.  Perfect dress, perfect suit, perfect shoes, perfect hair, pefect cut, perfect make-up, perfect shave, perfect jewels.  The excitement begins brewing early in the week when you start what is commonly known as "spirit" week.  All week, students get to celebrate something different each day with the culmination being the big dance on Saturday night.  There's dress-up days, teacher-student competitions, class challenges, parades, pep rallies, king and queen and the football game.  For teens, this is an opportunity, a "pass" to let loose a bit and have some fun.  An opportunity to come together with your current classmates and meet past classmates.  An opportunity to come together and celebrate the good stuff of adolescence.  That stuff that keeps you coming back year after year, long after you have graduated and succeeded in conquering new quests and challenges. 

Over the weekend, many high schools celebrated HOMECOMING, a time of celebration.  Celebration of memories.  Celebration of good times.  Celebration of good friends.  Celebration of what used to be.  Homecoming could be described as sort of a ritual with the parade and the homecoming court.  But it is also a "feel good" story.  A story of young people stepping out of that existence of worry and stress and into an existence of laughter, fun and good times.  A story of how young people can come together, regardless of differences, and share in the common thread of school community and school spirit.  A story of how young people can use HOMECOMING to leave positive, lasting impressions for others to follow.

HOMECOMING.  It's more than the parade, the dress-up, the dance.  It can be a time to mobilize change and "do some things".  Invite past teachers and staff to come back and mentor.  Invite past students to come back and mentor.  Invite past parents to come back and mentor.  Organize a fundraiser to gain monies to support the academic advancement of future classes, such as expanded libraries, computer labs or tech centers.  Remind community partners of commitments made and solicit new, broader commitments.  Invite the local TV, newspaper and radio station to come and spend a day at your school and witness the wonderful learning environments.  Request guidance and trainings for current class leaders to ensure successful leadership for future officers.

HOMECOMING.  If you thought it was just about the best looking girl or the best looking guy, think again.  It's about remembering the past, enjoying the present and planning the future.  It's about coming back to that place that feels safe and welcoming.  It's about coming back and expressing gratitude to all those who have helped you along the way.  It's about coming back and helping another teen feel good.  Feel good about self.  Feel good about school.  Feel good about life.  It's about remembering how wonderful it is to be a teenager.  

HOMECOMING.  Would you dare miss it?