October 8th, the day everyone had been waiting for, has come and gone. As students got dressed up and had the time of their lives, it is safe to say that Homecoming 2022 was a success. 

The anticipation was quite apparent this year. The school had its first pep rally in decades in order to get the students full of school spirit. With performances from the Cheer Team and the Marching Band along with a dodgeball game, the students were ready for Homecoming week. 

Cheesy Homecoming proposals, dress shopping, and dinner reservations filled the minds of many students, likely more than homework and exams. 

The dance began at 7:30, but festivities began much earlier. A popular dinner reservation spot was Nicky’s Thai Kitchen. With its trickling waterfall and fairy light ambiance, students dined on delicious meals such as their house-made chicken pad thai or crab rangoon. 

Junior Annie Wiethorn and her group of friends felt Nicky’s was the perfect way to start the night. 

“The food was incredible and the atmosphere was cozy,” Wiethorn said .”My friends and I had a great time, and we will definitely be going back next year.”

After hours of dinners and pictures, the NASH parking lot began to fill as students waited to enter the gymnasium. The campus was buzzing with both excitement and kids trying to keep warm in the cool fall air.

Moments later, students spilled onto the dance floor in a wide variety of outfits ranging from dresses to suits and even some kids in jeans and t-shirts. 

Some bought their outfits at the typical stores, but others went a less traditional route — ordering from Etsy or even making their clothes themselves. 

Cate Lenchner, a junior at NASH, braved the unknown risks of ordering from Etsy. 

“Ordering my dress from Etsy was definitely nerve-racking,” Lenchner said. “There are worries about the legitimacy of the seller and the quality of the dress, but I’m happy overall with how it turned out. However, I think I would’ve liked the experience of in-person dress shopping a lot more. I love supporting small businesses, but I’ll probably buy my dress in-person next year.”

Of course, the biggest attraction of Homecoming is the dance itself. But there were some mixed reviews regarding the music for the night. 

Junior Mackenzie Volpe felt the music could have been better, but it did have some high points.

“The DJ at Homecoming had a good amount of ups and downs,” Volpe said. “There were periods of really good songs that everyone knew and also periods of songs that very few people knew and were hard to dance to. The energy of the dance floor went very up and down.”

Others felt the DJ catered more to their own music taste than the students. 

Ethan Tao, a junior at NASH, said, “I wish the DJ took student requests more often. I think it would’ve been more successful if he read the room to see that most kids didn’t know the music.”

As Homecoming season comes to a close, students are redirecting their attention back to their studies. But soon enough, talks of Morp and Prom will doubtlessly begin to fill the halls.