AEXPERIENCING FIRST & A LAST HOMECOMING FOR THE FIRST TIME AS A SENIOR C Commentary by Joey Paolucci ‘22
Cut to the flashing neon lights, the vibrant explosions of sound. A pulsing, thriving crowd exclaiming songs from 2013. A mosh pit of twisting, swirling, twirling dancers screaming Neil Diamond at the top of their lungs. This is Homecoming, the famed nostalgia trip where time and movement is suddenly distorted by the bass and electric reverb of the DJ’s anthem. To the some fortunate enough to experience this before, the event was still a special one, the first since the onset of COVID. For me, though, it was my first Homecoming Dance, a chance to feel
minuscule in a gargantuan gymnasium crowd of luminescent figures running on adrenaline. The crowded dance floor was intimidating for some, brimming with resentment, reminiscence, or just jumbling closeness. But it was natural for others; the dance floor is their forte. Strangers an hour ago were new friends by the end. For seniors, this was the last opportunity to experience this important fragment of their senior year. Absorbing themselves in the drowning sound and the whiplash will be one of the last touching moments of their odyssey, navigating the sea of familiar and unfamiliar faces.
Rhythmically warping themselves on the reverberating floor, they realize for a split second that this is it. This is their grand finale. Not right now, but it’s rapidly shaping in front of their eyes. Orchestrated by themselves and the many that have formed them on the way to this moment. It’s a symphony, a grand orchestra whose instruments are played masterfully by their friends, family, and the ones at the back of the room. Those whose strings have united into an emotional concerto of bitterness and bliss. A grandiose echo with shattering vibrato, a crashing crescendo: the senior year.
HOMECOMING ELEVATE 05
