Saturday, Sept. 21 is the highly anticipated day of the annual Homecoming dance. Wait, hold up, did I just say September 21st? Seems a little bit early in the school year to begin Homecoming preparations! Everyone knows that attending is the easy part. The preparations — getting the best dress, date, party bus, and all that jazz — is the real stressor. Can we just take a second, breath, and rewind?  We started school last Tuesday and our Homecoming dance, one of the biggest events of our school year, is in exactly a month and a day later.

I’m sure I can speak for everyone when I say that starting school is rough. Whether you’re a nervous freshman or a jubilant high school senior, the adjustment from late summer nights to early school mornings is anything but a piece of cake. There are new classes, new rules, new people, and it takes a little bit of time to adapt. My day is full of challenging courses and packed with extra-curriculars, and to be honest, Homecoming is the last thing I would want to worry about.

Now, besides the physical labor of prepping oneself for the dance, there’s also the voting of Homecoming king and queen! Before you know it, everywhere you walk there’s going to be signs saying, “Vote me ____ for king” or “Don’t wait, vote me, ____ for queen!” Or if you’re REALLY lucky, maybe some awesome seniors will pass out homemade cupcakes with their name on it to persuade you to vote for them. And I’m sure there will be constant reminders from Mrs. Pritzker waiting for us in our school e-mail inbox as soon as the idea of Homecoming is even brought up.

For those of you who are new to Niles West, Homecoming is a big deal around here. There’s a whole week dedicated to spirit days all leading up to the event. My advice? Make the most of it. I know it’s early for everyone, but soak all of it in. Waking up extra early to paint your face red for the assembly, figuring out an ensemble for jocks vs. nerds day- it’s all part of the fun. All that’s left to do is just make sure that schoolwork is balanced in there somehow, too.

Now obviously I’m not the only opinionated student around Niles West who has something to say about Homecoming. Many students from different grades, boys and girls, have something they want you to hear, too.

Juniors Brandon Costantino and Chris Cervantes have two distinct, yet valid opinions about the early arrival of this year’s upcoming dance.

“For me right now, it’s crunch time,” Cervantes says. “You have to work so much harder to find a date, because we really don’t have time. We need to plan, because right now we’re all rushing, and rushing gets confusing.”

Meanwhile, Costantino says:

“It’s less pressure because you don’t have to wait that long at all to find dates. It’s less anxiety.”

The girls, although having a little bit of a different circumstance, seem to agree with Cervantes:

“It’s just way too early,” sophomore Nora Kifarkis agreed. “We’re getting adjusted to school, while I have to worry about getting a dress? Not just that, but then there’s the picture taking, and people judge you. It’s gonna become a first priority in a matter of days.”

Kathie Kajmowicz, math teacher and also head of Homecoming Committee, had much to say about the upcoming event as well:

“I am truly excited about the dance because BOOM entertainment is working with us more to try and incorporate the theme into the stage set up. Then I have a great group members are working together and getting things done!”

Early or not, it’s going to be a great time of the year.

As for the decision of the early date for this year, which was decided by Jessica Pritzker, she was unable to be reached for a comment.