Homecoming has proven to be a very popular and exhilarating high school experience that sometimes ends up being the chronic memory people look back on as they get older. It consists of the lively football games, the dress shopping with friends. the who’s going with who, and of course, the infamous homecoming court!

This year Page had a very successful homecoming game, coming back with a win of 10-7 against Western. Nevertheless, all eyes and thoughts were not on the game, but on the annual homecoming court. As I’m sure you know, every year girls from each grade are nominated to be on the court. Each girl gets to walk the field during halftime, being escorted (often by their father) and introduced over the speaker. After everyone has been announced, they call out the name of the senior that is to be crowned queen.

I spoke with a few of the nominees about their initial reactions and how they perceived being chosen. Akia Barnes, a junior at Page, said “I was very excited and was definitely not expecting to be nominated”. She continued “Knowing that I am one of four juniors is a big deal.” When asked how she celebrated, Akia said that she didn’t really have anything planned, but was hoping to maybe go out to dinner with family and friends and even invite them to the game to watch her walk.

I also talked to Haley Johnson, a senior, about her thoughts on the nomination. “I was very excited and a little surprised.” Haley mentioned how she didn’t really have any questions but that she was just happy people decided to nominate her. I asked her if she had any plans on celebrating, and she said “If I win probably, but lots of people have already done things to celebrate me.” She also brought up how, just like Akia, her family and dance team were coming to support her at the game. Haley is graduating early, so she said she was a little surprised by the nomination. “I had to get a lot of seniors and make sure they voted for me,” she said.

Skyla Clifford is a sophomore here at Page, and she didn’t have a lot to say on being nominated. However, when I asked her if she was surprised, she answered “I was extremely surprised about it and definitely wasn’t expecting it.” She continued “I was very happy when I found out.” Skyla did say she was very excited about her dress and was really looking forward to people seeing it. She stated that being nominated gave her the opportunity to have two dresses: one to walk in, and one for the dance.

Lastly, I couldn’t forget the homecoming Queen herself, Reeves Grant. This wasn’t Reeves’ first rodeo, as she was also nominated her junior year. “I was very excited but was definitely a little nervous when I found out,” she says. As i said, Reeves was also nominated last year, so she mentioned that being nominated a second time was a great feeling. Just like the others, Reeves planned on going out to dinner with family and friends as her way of celebrating. When I asked her if she was surprised she won, she said “I was very surprised I won, I thought one of the other girls would have won for sure.” Reeves said that her initial thought when hearing her name was shock. “I was nervous before, but when I heard my name called I couldn’t believe it.” A very common notion that most people seem to have is that when you win Homecoming Queen, people treat you differently. I asked Reeves if this was the case and what her experience on this was. She said “Everyone was really nice and congratulated me. I am very thankful for how sweet everyone was.”

So I guess life isn’t always like the movies and the basic stereotypes they portray with people quite literally willing to cut throats just to become Homecoming or Prom Queen aren’t exactly true. With Halloween coming up, it’s nice to know that people aren’t actually disposed to make a real life zombie prom queen- I don’t know if Party City stocks real bodies. All jokes aside, congratulations to this year’s Homecoming Court and Queen! Another successful Page Homecoming is in the books!

Pic Creds: Haydon Bode @haybodphotos on IG