Friday, October 9, 2009

Autumn has at last set in, and with this comes a huge high school event -- homecoming.

Like any other school dance, this one requires the usual rituals of buying a dress, getting one's hair done, finding a group of people to go with, making reservations at a restaurant, and pretty much running around all day getting ready for the dance. This year, however, the normal dance-day regimen was anything but typical.

As it so happens, Century's homecoming dance also coincided with two other important events -- my dad's birthday and a friend's mom's wedding. So the old routine was ditched for something different. Instead of worrying about getting a new dress this year, I decided to wear the one I wore freshman year. Considering my appearance has changed a little bit since I was 14, I think I was able to pull off the vintage 2005 look.

Instead of running around all day worrying about getting to a hair appointment and picking up flowers, I spent the afternoon running around worrying about finding a birthday present for my dad. And I must say that it's much more fun to go shopping for a birthday present than to sit in a barber chair making awkward small talk with a hair stylist. Not that my hair didn't look good for the dance. It just so happens that my cousin is pretty dang good at cutting and styling hair (and much more fun to talk to). So instead of going to a hair salon and paying $45 for an up-do, my cousin came over and gladly accepted some homemade candles as payment.

Instead of dining with a big group of people, my date and I dined at home with my parents. My dad is an amazing cook, so I honestly don't think any dinner at a fancy restaurant could've tasted better.

After dinner, we split the night up between two dances -- the "Under the Sea"-themed homecoming dance and the more elegantly decorated wedding reception. Alternating between these two gatherings, I noticed some interesting similarities.

• Different age groups have their own ridiculous "slide-themed" dances. When we arrived at the wedding reception, a group of middle-aged adults were attempting to do the more current, "Cha-Cha Slide." At homecoming, almost everybody knew this dance, but at the reception the whole "slide to the left, slide to the right" maneuver seemed to be a bit of a difficult task. But the same group of adults redeemed themselves when the "Electric Slide" came on, dancing with much more confidence to a song with which I'm only vaguely familiar.

• No matter what age, people will find a way to dance inappropriately. I've heard many people complain about the way teens "bump and grind" at dances, and I agree that this type of dancing (if you can call it that) is uncreative at best. But at the wedding, I discovered that not all adults are safe from the offense of inappropriate dance. Toward the end of the night, one woman was trying quite unsuccessfully to see how flexible her legs could be, leaving both me and my date in shock.

• Humans who don't know how to dance do their best to compensate. I'm not exactly the best dancer ever, and neither are my friends, but halfway into the homecoming dance we found an easy way to make up for this by forming a huge conga line running and shuffling through the gymnasium. Similarly at the wedding, when songs like "I'm Walking on Sunshine" came on, everyone would sing along to the lyrics and invent steps made to mimic the enthusiasm of one truly "walking on sunshine."

Carlie Ruffalo is a senior at Century High School. To respond to an opinion column, send an e-mail to life@postbulletin.com.