BY OLIVIA EBERSOLE ‘16

A Queen and a King, food and friends, a night that will forever be remembered: Homecoming.

However, this year more students than past years have decided the dance is not worth their time, and I must point out the reasons why it is worth our time, and hopefully kids will not miss out on the fun.

The dance has been a constant for years, something middle school students look forward to when coming to the high school.  So why are students making the decision to dress up, go out to dinner and skip the dance?

When speaking to some students about their decisions to not go, I heard some of the cons of the dance.  The djs have not had the best reputations for the last few dances, so we use them as an excuse to skip the dance.  Of course, there is no food at the dance, and what do we high school students love most? Food. To be fair, though, we usually go to dinner before the dance and often get more food after the dance.

One of the biggest complaints I heard was that the dancing is gross; however, if dirty dancing makes you uncomfortable, you do not have to do it yourself.  For those of us who do like to dance, hey, we have to channel our inner Baby at some point.

To be fair, everyone is allowed their own opinion and no one can be forced into going to the dance, but before the idea is thrown down the drain, it is always good to look at the positives.

Even though it is called a “dance,” that does not mean we have to go out there and try to outdo one another.  The fact is, we do not even have to dance;   we can go talk to other classmates, compliment each other’s dresses, gossip and leave without worrying about being forced to dance or about what others will think.

The whole thing is there for us to have our own fun, perhaps go out of our comfort zone a little and make memories. There are only four high school Homecoming dances in our lives, so why not go to the dances for an experience?  It can help students let go of stress and forget about school work and college.

While some people think they will feel awkward if they do not have a date, I believe it is nothing like that. Homecoming is a relaxed night meant to include all students, and so many go in groups of friends that it is  completely normal to go stag.

While many students this year are already dead set on not going to the homecoming dance, I believe the experience can be healthy for everyone.  We have an excuse to look our best and get out of our comfort zone, even for only an hour, which only helps to make us stronger. The homecoming dance really is worth our time.