Photo courtesy of Jane Umhofer

Last year, current sophomore Jane Umhofer went to WJ’s Homecoming dance with a group of close friends. The four of them stayed the whole time and were never bored.

October is one of the most exciting months of the year: Halloween, fall festivals and, of course, Homecoming! When WJ finally starts selling Homecoming tickets in the crowded student commons, it is very stressful, yet exciting. Pretty soon the hallways are filled with hoards of people recording the newest Homecoming proposal, making noise and creating traffic at the end of the school day.

But is all the stress and panic of wondering whether that certain someone is going to ask you to the dance really worth it? Going to the dance with a date that you barely know can sometimes be awkward, and you will probably end up going back to your group of friends anyways. For Homecoming during my freshman year, I went with a group of friends and some of them had dates, but I didn’t. That year was really exciting, partially because I had never been to a Homecoming before and because I wasn’t worried about where my date was, having to dance with my date or anything even related to dating. The only thoughts on my mind were to have a good time and dance with all of my friends.

Sophomore year, I decided to bring a date from another school to WJ’s Homecoming. Although he and I are very good friends, he didn’t know anyone from WJ, and the whole experience was more stressful than fun in the end. The whole duration of the dance, I was very focused on keeping my date occupied and comfortable, instead of focusing on having a good time.

Dates can ruin the whole point of Homecoming. Homecoming is all about dancing with the people who make you feel comfortable to dance with and sometimes people are only comfortable doing that with their closest friends.

Having a date can also be awkward before the actual dance. Imagine putting a corsage on someone, and having your picture taken in front of a bunch of people you don’t know. Group photos are hard because you don’t know anybody and you have to stand next to them and smile even though you have no idea who it is that’s standing around you.

That experience is completely different when you’re just with friends. You don’t even have to worry about buying a boutonniere or corsage at all.

Even though a lot of people want to have the experience of saying they went to Homecoming with a date, it’s not always as fun as it seems. Even though it can be exciting to wait in the hallway for a Homecoming proposal, the experience that comes from all that excitement is somewhat disappointing. I understand why girls want to have that special night where they dress up and feel like they have someone who cares about them, but I’d prefer having fun with my friends over a flimsy corsage any day.