Golden Valleys Homecoming took place this past weekend, on September 17th. Students were pleasantly surprised at how their homecoming turned out, especially because of the precedent set by other schools this year and how homecoming turned out last year. 

The previous year, students were saddened by how few activities there were and the organization of it all. This included the long wait to get in and the lack of things to do, mainly due to the precautions needed for Covid-19. This year, students saw posts on social media about all the different carnival rides and activities other schools had to do and hoped their homecoming could live up to others. This set very high expectations for ASB to accomplish: not only to make up for last year’s homecoming, but to meet the bar raised by other schools. 

Students think ASB did very well in accomplishing their goal. They loved the photo booths, ‘mocktail’ drinks, Ferris wheel, and caricatures. Having something to take home as a keepsake definitely improved the nights of many, especially since the caricature drawings were such good quality.  What stood out to students the most, however was the bull ride. Many had a blast comparing their time to others, trying to do it one-handed, and experiencing something they have never done or barely have the opportunity to. 

The quality of these activities made up for the minimum amount of them for many students. A Saugus student, Noah Motherspaw, who went to both Saugus and Golden Valleys Homecoming, tells us that “Even though Saugus definitely had more rides, there’s still a lot of cool stuff here and I think the quality of what’s here makes up for the amount of it.” 

However, some believe the quality of the rides and games does not make up for the amount of them. A Golden Valley Student, Kaia Usher, explains “Everything really meets up to my expectations. I just wish there were more things to do like the bull ride…everything only took me two hours to do.” Although the two hours were of high quality, many were left feeling they had done everything. This feeling in large part is due to the number of students who had shown up. 

With more students attending, there would have been more excitement and overall create a more upbeat and energetic atmosphere. Nick Dermanjin explains that “everything here pretty much meets my expectations, I just wished more people showed up.” Not only would it have changed the atmosphere, but it would have generated more funding for ASB so they are able to put money into this awesome event. 

This goes beyond the hard work of ASB in meeting student expectations of Homecoming, and listening to feedback; it takes effort and work from the student body as a whole in becoming more involved. Although a student may hear a negative comment about homecoming, it needs to be understood that there is one negative comment for every ten positive ones. It is impossible for an experience to be good if you are constantly trying to look for the bad parts about it while there. Many students had a wonderful time at homecoming this year and the critical reflections are only reflected because those students are passionate about making their high school experience the best possible. That begins with the students deciding to get out there, have fun, and go and make some memories. If everyone is there to help make an experience the best it can be– whether it be a dance, football game, or rally– it will be the best experience imaginable. 

The most important expectation of this homecoming was to be in a place where it was impossible to hold back your laughter or not smile. Even in a situation where there was nothing to do at our homecoming, that is one expectation Golden Valley students never fail to meet. Golden Valley is fortunate to have an ASB that creates an environment in which it is so easy to have fun and is encouraged to help make this year the best it can be.