Homecoming: “a milestone in most high schoolers’ lives.” But why are so many students not attending this year?

The dance which was once dedicated solely to having fun and making memories, has turned into something that has become focused more on what group you’re going with and what dress you’re wearing, according to students.

“Hanging out with my friends was nice and I liked that part of hoco. It was the preparation aspect of it that I didn’t really like. [Like last year] shopping for a dress, finding a group, and taking pictures was stressful, and it kind of took the fun out of it,” Anna Yoon, sophomore, said. “There’s not really a specific reason I’m not going because, I just didn’t really enjoy it or have that much fun last year. I’m not against going to [Homecoming] at all, I just didn’t really feel like putting in the effort to go this year.”

Like Yoon, other students express their emotion for the time consuming process to get ready for homecoming.

“My friend and I decided we didn’t really want to go this year because there are a lot of things you have to do for [homecoming] and it’s kind of stressful,” Morgan Banovitz, junior, said. “The most stressful part about homecoming was finding what to wear and figuring out how to do my hair and makeup.”

However, despite the stressful aspect of homecoming, some students like Lizzy Yen, sophomore, simply aren’t going due to other commitments.

“The exact day of homecoming I have a dance fundraiser/performance and it’ll take up the whole evening and I can’t make it to homecoming,” Yen said. “But I have nothing against going. It was so fun last year.”

Whatever the reason may be, Banovitz believes homecoming is something everyone should attend during their time as a high schooler.

“I would say that I do recommend going to homecoming at least once. It is a great experience that everyone should have,” Banovitz said. “The memories will last forever and there are some things you can only experience through dances like these.”