Today was Homecoming at my alma mater, Slippery Rock University. While it’s no longer a tradition for me as it used to be, I still like today I’m in my homecoming era. I remember for so many years I got up early and made that drive up Interstate 79, arriving early and finding a good spot for the parade. The themes for Homecoming week were always awesome, whether I was in school or long after I graduated. My first year when I was a student they went with a Hollywood theme. A year later, they went with an ’80s theme and I remember seeing some of my friends in legwarmers. I met Dennis Haskins during Homecoming week. You might remember him as the principal from Saved by the Bell.
The Slippery Rock marching band always did a great job in the parade, marching up Franklin onto Main Street and onto campus. They also put together a hell of a performance at halftime during the football game. The show always ranked up there with the homecoming court being announced. I always stopped in the alumni house and had a muffin and something to drink, and I always took plenty of pictures. I got my meal ticket and ate in the alumni tent while enjoying some music from the DJ.
The Homecoming tradition began in my first year as a student in the Fall of 2003 and continued long after I graduated. I went my first year after college and that was a red flag as I should have been getting established at Kings. I missed a few years due to other trips I was taking (Virginia in 2011, Disney in 2015) and could have benefitted from missing a few other years too. Nevertheless, I attended for many years reminisicing about the good old days and hoping to recreate some of those memories. Before I got into the blog and began my fashion journey, I was pining to go back to school for another degree. Even if it was a different field and not worrying about the debt I’d have to pay back, I wanted a do over because early on, I felt like I had a bad experience in school.
My late teens and 20s were like that, as I dealt with anxiety and it got the best of me. I experienced meltdowns and got uptight, but I digress. Back to being in my HOCO era.
While at homecoming, I always paid a visit to the SRU bookstore and came home with a bag full of merch. A ROCK sweatshirt or a t-shirt, a water bottle, and some other fun stuff. I still have my Slippery Rock coffee mug upstairs collecting dust as well as a sweatshirt amongst my Gilmore Girls attire and Old Navy rib knits. A piece of the ROCK still lives in me, even 20 years after gracing the campus with my presence. I still have the book on the school’s history autographed by the author and former VP of Student Life, Dr. Robert Watson.
The Slippery Rock homecoming tradition was retired in 2018, as it had run its course. It was the end of my homecoming era Soon after, I started this blog and began my journey. I attended a Toastmasters event in 2019 in place of Homecoming and dealt with 2020 in all its social distancing and masking glory. Fading interest in my old job, cobbled with COVID restrictions and other changes in my life slowed me down in 2020 and 2021. But I’ve since emerged from the ashes and continue to do well for myself.
Stylish 🍒 