As I so often do, last weekend, I journeyed to Orlando, home to my alma mater. Although this time, it was for Homecoming.
Homecoming as an alumna is (not unexpectedly) an altogether different experience from homecoming as a college student.
For one thing, Homecoming at UCF is a competition. It’s not just students concentrating on one football game and hoping that the team emerges victorious. Instead, the whole week is rife with events like Philanthropy Knight or Skit Knight.
As a student, I was INTO Homecoming. I loved it. I tried to participate in every event possible with my sorority; helped write the skits and performed in them. The night before the game, participating organizations had to build a float for the Homecoming parade. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, helping to build our float, caught a couple hours of sleep, and then had to be back there to be on the float. And I loved it.
(Since we’re doing the flashback thing, this was my last homecoming skit as a student. I’m “Alice”)
As an alumna, homecoming has a much more NOSTALGIC factor. Seeing old friends, talking about old memories… it was nice in a quieter sort of way. I hung out at a tailgate with them and marveled at how many unfamiliar faces there were in “our” area. I once would have known them all. And walking on campus was sort of surreal. So much is the same that it was like stepping through a time warp. And yet, there are little changes that make it hard to forget how long it’s been.
Still, I had a wonderful time staying with one of my best friends/old roommates and seeing so many of my old friends that I don’t get to see nearly enough.
I had such a great time, that in a couple of weeks, I’m going back– and this time I’m actually going to a football game too!
