As always, Rocklin High Students have been asked or have asked other students to the annual and well-admired Homecoming Dance. As always, unlucky students were stressed about how everything was working out in the short time between their asking/being asked and the dance itself.

Around campus for the weeks leading up to the dance people could be seen with balloons, donut boxes, posters and flowers — all signs of their new-found date to the dance. Some were even seen on Thursday, October 2, just two days before everything comes into action!

Among the various gifts and tokens of affection, the week leading up to the dance featured much more than usual. The week celebrates school spirit with a myriad activities and daily dress-up themes.

“Homecoming week is a time to show school spirit in more ways than one. Kids love dressing up to show school spirit and have competitions everyday,” said sophomore Joy Gad.

One of the truly exciting parts of Homecoming is getting asked and having a date to arrive with. Something about matching with your date, taking pictures and hanging out all night just makes this fun-filled week even better.

Maybe you don’t even want to go, so you don’t buy a dress, shoes, jewelry or a ticket and you plan other activities for the night. That night was going to be just as amazing only with a smaller crowd, but of course, you get asked. All your plans down the drain, and suddenly the stress level is on a high 10 out of 5. All of that stress could have been avoided if you were asked at an appropriate time.

According to an RHS poll, most of the female population has said that they would prefer to be asked two weeks in advance. This way they are able to have a week to find a dress, and shoes, and make all the necessary arrangements to enjoy all the fun things about Homecoming week at Rocklin High.

“Two weeks, it’s plenty of time to plan it out. I see people being asked out two days before the actual dance and I can’t imagine how stressful! How do they get their outfit planned out? Rides to and from the dance? It’s crazy!” said sophomore Carlye Krause.

When putting it all in perspective there’s a lot to consider; it’s not only about getting a date and arriving there to most people. If fun is expected, then there’s much, much more in play. Hopefully next time a dance creates a desire for dates, those asking will do so in a timely fashion, allowing everyone to enjoy the fun, games and spirit Rocklin High has to offer.