The Dark Side of Being a Homecoming Candidate - Janae Champlin

The Dark Side of Being a Homecoming Candidate

By: Janae Champlin

            Since I was little I have dreamed of being a Homecoming Queen. I wanted to wear a big poufy dress, have my hair all curled, and the best part… get a tiara. Sadly in 7^th grade my dreams were crushed (or so I thought). My mother was the English teacher, and in our eyes she was very tough. Many of my friends hated her because she expected us to turn in our homework and actually bring a book and read in her class. (What was she thinking?!)  When someone didn't do this their name went up on the board and they had to serve a detention. One day I came home so infuriated with my mom that I finally told her, “Because of you I’m not ever going to get Homecoming Queen!” I’m eating my words now. (Sorry, Mom.)

            When Mr. Bender posted who was up for homecoming this year I felt overjoyed and honored to be one of the candidates. All I could think about was what I was going to wear, and how my hair would look. Boy was I wrong when I thought homecoming was going to be glamorous. 

            When I was a 7^th grader it was easy to assume that spirit week is just one fun day after another, but I’m here to tell you that it’s not. Being a candidate is much more stressful than I thought it would be.

Example 1: Sports- Being in a sport takes a lot of time out of my schedule. That week I had two golf tournaments back to back. When I added absences due to homecoming that totaled three school days taken right out of the week. Academics are a top priority and trying to make up National Government and Psychology homework is incredibly difficult.

Example 2: Appointments- People expect candidates to be beautiful on Friday, and in order to do that we have to pay people to make us beautiful. Finding the time to get my nails done and calling to get a hair appointment was time consuming. Also, whether I was going to buy it or borrow it, I had to find time to get a dress.

Example 3: Sickness- Unfortunately Concordia High was infected with colds and sore throats the past two weeks. I constantly covered my hands in Germ-X and basically let nobody touch me if they had the slightest cough. Even though I never got a cold I did somehow get an eye infection. My eye doctor made me wear my glasses for a few days, and I kept imagining having to walk down the auditorium aisle during the assembly wearing glasses I’ve had since junior high! Thankfully the infection went away and I didn’t have to walk in looking like I was back in 8^th grade.

Example 4: Acne- When I woke up the morning of homecoming and found a face with new zits, panic set in. All I wanted was for my fairy godmother to come down and do some “bippity boppity boo” magic on my face. Sadly I’m not Cinderella so foundation was my plan B.

            Even though this past week consisted of many long afternoons, stressful nights, and a ton of Ibuprofen and Prilosec; I still had one of the most memorable nights of my high school career. Thank you everyone for the continuous support you give me, and I’m very proud to be the 2014 CHS Homecoming Queen!