Last year, in 2014, a doe-eyed freshman gazing at all these older students who had been to a homecoming or two, I found myself tucked away in my tiny Twin XL, Netflix on and popcorn in hand. When I saw the Homecoming Week schedule, I felt left out. Catered to Greenfeather events, the schedule was chock full of activities that involved those in Greek life and bigger organizations, and as a tiny, unaffiliated freshmen, I felt left out. A talent show seemed "very middle school," I didn't have a homecoming game ticket, and paying to watch a bunch of bad dances wasn't on the agenda. The bonfire was fun until the mosquitoes swarmed and I realized that most of the people there were throwing their signs for really cute pictures that would be plastered all over Facebook the next day with hashtags about spreading Greek love.
It was hard to fit in when everyone already had their place and friends. Even my best friend and roommate had their place in homecoming, while I did not. I left left out of homecoming and did not feel like a Hatter at all. Homecoming was supposed to be a time of acceptance, when Hatters old and new could come together to celebrate the values and traditions of Stetson University, and I felt unwelcome.
Homecoming 2015 was amazing! Maybe it is because I had so many more friends with me, both from Stetson and elsewhere, but regardless, this homecoming week was so much fun. I got excited with every announcement about homecoming, and felt so much pride as the week drew to a close about what we had accomplished. I went to the talent show and was able to see one of my greatest friends here preform. I went to Airwaves and was my best friend's number one fan (while still catching some other dances on video to look back at). I hung out with some amazing people at the bonfire, despite my thin South-Florida blood crying from the cold and my unaffiliated status. Each event had some kind of significance, each bringing different feelings.
Somehow, in one year, I changed. I went from hating Homecoming week and feeling like I wasn't accepted or welcomed to having the time of my life. Nothing monumental happened during Homecoming 2015; it was not like the time I graduated or had my first real kiss. Homecoming wasn't a big event that I can mark down in my calendar as a day that changed my life, instead, it was a week that showed me how much I had changed.
During Homecoming 2014, I was still a RHS Graduate, fresh out of high school and still a fetus in the college world. During Homecoming 2015, however, I was a Hatter. I met people. I stepped out of my comfort zone. I sat with club members, stood with fraternities, and held a little girl's hand when she wanted to see the cheerleaders up close (with her mother's permission, of course!). One year later, I have changed so much from the little fetus who felt left out, and learned what being a Hatter was about. If all that can happen in one year, what will Homecoming 2016 be like?
