Coming Home From HOCO Chaos: Never Serious in Neverland

Justin Romero

The Homecoming Dance was a fun thing that did happen. It happened on an existent Saturday night, September 11, 2021, which you might realize is also the 20 year anniversary of Jay-Z’s sixth studio album, The Blueprint.

It lasted from 7-11 o’clock; so much to do with so little time. Although, even with that time comes a little bit of boredness. Mia Ocegaueda, a freshman here at Sultana said that “In the beginning, I felt that it was a bit boring. I almost left, but thankfully I stuck around till the end and ended up having a great time.” 

As soon as the dance began, people started to do all sorts of activities, such as dance and homecome. While some dances may be a bit too explicit to mention here, just remember that this dance has ended and soon, everything will come with it.

But one of the main things that make a dance a dance, is music! Some really enjoyed the DJ they had at the dance. A good DJ is what you need to get the crowd hyped and ready to have a fun time! There was even a smoke gun that the DJ would spray at the students to cool them off from the constant dancing.

Halfway through the dance, the DJ stopped for a moment to get the audience’s attention. They wanted to take a moment of silence, for it was the 20 year anniversary of Jay-Z’s sixth studio album, The Blueprint. After that, the DJ played a trap remix of “The Star Spangled Banner.” How cool was that? I don’t know, I wasn’t there.

The dance was also serving food, like pizza and other things probably. There were also glowsticks handed out at the dance, a refreshing drink to wash down the guilt. There is a chance that someone was sick all over the place, but we will most likely never ever hear about that story, unless it was captured in an embarrassing manner.

Although there was a break in between, all the winners of HOCO prince and princess walked down a cleared path on the dance floor. Everyone gathered around and cheered for them. The group was so big it was hard to even clear a pathway for the HOCO winners. 

Usually, the dances are in the cafeteria but with COVID guidelines that just wouldn’t work. With the dance being outside it spread out students more and allowed for a safer environment. There were such large groups even when the dance was outside. Imagine it being inside the cafeteria all crammed together. That would be bad!

It’s Tuesday now, the aftermath of a busy weekend. I talked to some of my peers in art class, whose full names I don’t know. One of them, whose first name is Savannah, said that the dance was “awkward,” and “the worst night of my life.” Another person at the table, Carly said “I had fun,” when Karly (spelt with a K) added “I liked dancing.”

That’s three quotes! Yeah, I have a lot of friends, but you probably have way more if you went to the dance. Anyway, the dance was very fun, but maybe stressful depending on who you would ask or something.

For example, Justine said “It wasn’t that bad, It could’ve been worse.” That’s the spirit, Justine! Another strange occurrence at the dance was the gender separated lines. The boys line took a long time to get into the dance, because their search was far more thorough than the girls line. Somebody fell by accident too! I don’t know who though. I’m a great reporter.

I’ve also heard several stores of women’s toes bleeding because of constant feet stepping and walking. It’s kind of like medieval torture, but with Bad Bunny playing in the background.

I noticed that everyone seemed so exhausted Monday. Maybe it was from all the fun they had on the dance floor, woo! Or maybe they’re just tired all of the time, woo! 

All jokes aside, the dance seemed to be a big hit that many people enjoyed. Hopefully, the students keep enjoying the dances the way they did this one. 

Photo by Emma Gregg