Homecoming sucks.
Just kidding. Actually, it's oodles of fun. And after it, you will feel a sense of belonging.
While matriculation was your formal induction to Dartmouth, Homecoming is the unofficial, yet more important, ceremony. This weekend, freshmen will feel as if they have truly become part of something greater: the tight-knit community of Dartmouth people. When marching down Main Street during the freshman sweep, you will feel it along with the enthusiastic cheers of generations of alumni. When circling the bonfire at dangerous speeds (hoping to avoid a pumpkin-clad idiot), you may feel it along with the fire's intense heat. When navigating a crowd of Homecoming revelers at a frat party, you may feel it along with the pulsating floor. When screaming until you can scream no more against Columbia at the football game, you will feel it along with the cold New Hampshire air. You feel like you belong.
And you do. Ignore the "worst class ever" chants and see Homecoming as a respite from the rigors of school life. In the words of the 1980s American hero Ferris Bueller, who took his own academic break, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
Because come Monday, all that will remain from the weekend is an ash heap in the middle of the Green circumscribed by a ring of muddy footprints.
Oh, and your memories.
