Homecoming week, and the weeks prior, were madness. With school, sports practices, and then making campaign posters afterward, I barely had time for myself. Although the craziness of this time was something I’ve never experienced before, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Homecoming court was given a school-related absence to prepare on Friday, and those extra hours felt like crunch time. My hair and makeup appointment was at 9 am, so sleeping in was something I didn’t have time for. The first part of my day was done by 11, so the king, Johnny Pardo, and I got Panera Bread for lunch together while we allowed a couple of minutes of free time to catch up. Afterward, it was time for the pep assembly.
We returned to the school at 12:30 to prepare for the pep assembly, including extra pictures, corsages, boutonnières, procedures, expectations, and everything in between.
Once we were lining up for the assembly, the feeling of nervousness reminded me of playing the first sports game of the season. As the couple who went last, the nervousness stayed with me until it was our time to go, and that’s when all nervous or scared feelings left my body, and all I could feel was happiness and excitement. The cheering from the crowds when we were announced was vibrant, and I just wanted to take everything in. This is where the one bad thing, which is necessary for a great day, happened. While Johnny and I did our handshake in front of our senior class, our .5 photo did not take. While at that moment, I was devastated, looking back, it made me realize that one bad thing in a whole day does not make the complete day a bad one.
The parade also had a couple of incidents. I had posters on the sides of the truck I was in, and both ended up falling off on the way to Davidson. While my dad and I were trying to fix the truck itself, my mother had to go driving around for the posters. We found both, one still in perfect condition, and the other was a bit jacked up. We ended up just taping the posters back down in just enough time for the parade to begin. The children waiting to see the other court members and me were adorable and honestly made me feel like a real-life princess.
The last major part of the day was the football game. The view from the court tent was great, and it almost felt like we were on the field ourselves. The first quarter went by quickly whereas the second quarter took forever, specifically the last 5 minutes where there were 2 time outs and 3 players injured on Taylor’s team. Standing by the 50 yard line, waiting for the news we’ve been waiting for for the past few weeks gave me the same feelings from the pep assembly. I was nervous until they announced mine and Johnny’s name, then all feelings of nervousness disappeared, and I was just happy to be living in the moment. Before Johnny and I split, we squeezed each other’s hands and whispered that we love each other.
Standing there felt like everything was in slow motion. I had a delayed reaction when our names were announced as king and queen, as I honestly thought that we wouldn’t. I was so incredibly shocked that we actually won, and with that, I won with the man who I want to spend the rest of my life with.
Following the game, Johnny and I went to BJ’s in Taylor with last year’s king and queen, Brooklyn and Jackson Sage, as well as a couple of other friends.