On September 16th, 2023, Osbourn High School held their Casino Night-themed homecoming dance in the school gymnasium and cafeteria from 7-10 p.m. A girl’s first homecoming is a big day because, other than football games, it is the first main high school social event! It is a day where they get to put on their favorite makeup, do their hair, and wear a fancy dress, all while spending time with their closest friends.

The homecoming event is not only a night where groups of friends can attend together but couples can as well. “I did get a homecoming proposal. After my volleyball game, I went home and there was a sign on my bed and I got asked to the dance,” said Adrianna Willard.

Finding your perfect dress is one of the most exciting things about homecoming. Some students may follow the dance’s theme and some may wear something that suits their style a little better, “My dress was brown with golden sparkles,” said Daviana Vidal who got her dress at Windsor in Potomac Mills Mall, “It was silver and very sparkly, all the glitter got everywhere and very fitted,” said Lilly Donahue. Some people even wore dresses that were long instead of short. “My dress was long and hot pink,” said Camilla Mendoza.

Since the dance was held on a Saturday evening, everyone had a lot of time to get ready for the dance and hang out with their friends beforehand. “I was going to get my nails done but I ran out of time, I went to Old Town for the Hispanic festival before getting ready,” said Mendoza. A lot of other people like to meet up at a certain location and take pictures before going out to eat. “Before the dance, I went to eat dinner with all of my friends and then after the dance, the same group of friends and I went to IHOP,” said Willard.

A DJ was hired to play music during the dance, and although everyone likes different music a lot of people were happy with his choice of songs. “God’s Plan by Drake was my favorite song played because it’s the only one I remember,” said Kenzie Nguyen. While most people enjoyed the DJ’s choice of songs, some people weren’t so pleased, “The song choices could have been a bit better,” said Mendoza.

Most girls have their routine they follow to get ready for the day from applying skincare to putting on makeup. For some, it takes only 10-20 minutes to get ready, and others need at least a whole hour to perfect their look for the night. “Not gonna lie- it took me about 2 hours,” said Donahue. Some people even invite friends over to get ready for the dance together. “I got ready for the dance with one of my friends and I just did my hair myself,” said Willard.

Although to most people homecoming is a perfect night, there are always things that could’ve been better, “The photo booth wouldn’t print my pictures,” said Keila Rich. The line was always long for the photo booth and it took about 3 pictures per group. There were also optional props for people to use in their pictures.

Other than a few flaws during the dance, overall people were very happy with their first homecoming experience. “My favorite part was dancing with my friends because it just made my night seeing all my friends smiling,” said Donahue.