Dear West Chester University,
Marching band fanfare, glints of purple and gold in the air: the grandiose event of homecoming grabbed West Chester University’s weekend by the ram horns.
A page in Cambridge dictionary would define homecoming as “a celebration at a school or college, usually including a dance and a football game, when people who were students there at an earlier time can return to visit” — others call it a staple of the American school experience, in which students and alumni alike return to their favored grounds.
All in all, I would say that it means coming home.
What is home, though? Because in the same way that the trees have moved on from their brilliant green to their cozy autumn blush, change is inevitable. The leaves change, the campus changes, and a memory of one’s childhood house may be all that remains. But then again, a house is not necessarily a home.
Home is what you make of it. It’s the people, it’s the memories you create, it’s the memories you share. If “homecoming” doesn’t quite pull at your heartstrings just yet, look at it through this lens: does being in this space, with these people, in this moment, feel right?
If it does, then it’s home. Or at least, a facet of it, and that doesn’t make it any less valuable.
I hope you all had a safe and memorable homecoming weekend: one full of moments you can hold onto, to stash in the pocket resting above your heart. I hope that you were in the company of those you cherish — and to those with relationships and friendships that are still blossoming, I hope that you were with those you can genuinely smile with, of whom would reciprocate with the same kind of care.
Because it’s no secret that when one is surrounded by loved ones, who love in return, good times have never seemed so good (so good, so good!).
Sincerely,
Julien Padillo, Editor-in-chief
Julien Padillo is a fourth-year Media & Culture major with a minor in Digital Marketing. JP913571@wcupa.edu