Thank you for a normal Homecoming Week, Wofford College. As a sophomore, I missed out on a lot of the traditional events during my freshman year that Wofford would host for Homecoming, in addition to the other delicacies that were taken from my class.
Now, I’m just as sick of these sad “FOMO” posts and rants as you are. This isn’t a pity party about how much COVID-19 took away from me, because I am perfectly aware of how much more it took from others who lost their life, their loved ones or their health.
Instead, this is just me expressing my gratitude for Wofford College for hosting the Homecoming Week that we all were waiting for.
Wofford Activities Council (WAC) scheduled an entire week of activities preceding the long-anticipated Homecoming and reunion weekend on Oct. 15-17. WAC hosted a trivia night on Monday, Mr. Wofford pageant on Tuesday, percent night on Wednesday, the annual carnival on Thursday and a food truck fair on Friday, all leading up to the big game and Homecoming Queen announcement on Saturday.
I was saddened that I did not get to attend all of the events that WAC hosted for the students, but, for once, it felt like a real Wofford. It felt like there was so much going on that I actually had to worry about having the time to complete my assignments. (Don’t worry, Mom. I did.)
Seeing a maskless crowd for the Mr. Wofford pageant on Tuesday night was the first instance in which I realized, wow, Wofford really is back to normal. We all gathered on our lawn chairs on “the Row” and watched Brandon Molina ‘22 twerk on photographer Mark Olencki.
The Old Gold & Black folks watched in agony as Chalmers Rogland ‘22, our wonderful representative and managing editor, critiqued a painting of a sandwich. No wonder we lost: Rogland is more skilled in critiquing writing.
I felt the normalcy seeping through when Ryana Privott ‘24 and I reached the top of the Ferris wheel on Thursday night and looked down to see the long lines in front of the swing, bouncy house and food trucks. Of course, this caused our seat to rock and Privott to panic.
It felt right to be within six feet of Talicia Murphy when I pied her in the face for only $1, all proceeds to Habitat for Humanity.
It was the most amazing feeling to be able to bring my boyfriend from another college to the Homecoming football game on Saturday, cheering on the Terriers.
The supportive atmosphere of the game, especially in the last 30 seconds when we almost beat Samford, is my “Why Wofford.”
Listening to the crowd scream and watching Sopharvathy Vorn ‘22, our 2021 Homecoming Queen, weep tears of joy as she was being crowned next to our Homecoming King, Tae’von Gibbs ‘24 was such a beautiful moment to be a part of and to witness.
In those moments, the Wofford community came together to celebrate its students and alumni. Topping off the weekend with a commencement ceremony for the class of 2021, in which over half showed up with over 500 guests, Wofford really showed its students how much they care.
Wofford is just as ready for normalcy as we are, and Homecoming Week was the most normal that Wofford has felt in my entire time here thus far.
