No words can describe the few seconds filled with fear just before they announce the Homecoming King and Queen.

There are about a zillion words for the seconds filled with joy after my partner and I's names were called.

After a long, stressful week of campaigning and worry, all of our hard work paid off. Being on the Homecoming Court has been one of the most satisfactory and most humbling experience of my life. It is very difficult to describe the level of fun I had with my friends the entire time time. It is truly a week I will never forget.

To start off, the amount of love and support I got from my best friends was enough to put me on Cloud 9. From the day I got the congratulations email informing me I was selected to be on the Homecoming Court to the day of the Homecoming game, there wasn't a second they weren't in my corner. And that made all the difference. They were the ones I bounced ideas off of and they helped me make good decisions in terms of the campaign. My friends were the ones to get everything in place in order for Haydee and I to take REALLY CUTE pictures. Much thanks has to go out to Haydee for getting us a videographer for our campaign video.

Taking those pictures and shooting for that video was lots of fun, but it doesn't hold a candle to the Homecoming Court.

Secondly, being on the court with so many deserving people was such a great honor. I know everybody on the court was deserving because of the rigorous process in place for someone to work towards Homecoming Royalty. Cheers to you guys and gals. Even after everything was said and done, Haydee and I got lots of hugs and congratulations from the court and that means the world. After all, we were all on the same court and we were all there to support each other. Its those moments of hugs and congratulations that make the honor mean that much more.

Then there are all the required events for the Homecoming Court. Mainly the Victor E. March through campus to the humongous bonfire to get the rest of campus pumped for the Homecoming game. It was a blast to lead the march with the rest of the Homecoming Court and having the campus slowly cumulate and march with us. It really is a symbolic gesture if you think about it. Some of the campus' greatest leaders and role models leading a march through campus with everybody else pulling up right behind? Like, wow. I'm getting all giddy just thinking about it again.

And the other required event? That just so happens to be one of my favorite parts of the entire experience. Riding in the back of a huge four-door truck with Haydee in the Homecoming Parade. At that time, everything that we could've done for our campaign was done. Voting was closed, so what else was there to worry about other than what we were going to wear to the game? That parade was our chance to just relax and enjoy the entire experience and get our face out there to the rest of the community. Casually driving down Main Street, waving and smiling at everybody on a Saturday morning.

As if the experience couldn't get any better, my mother and sister came to town just to share the experience with me! They're so great. Additionally, I had one of my best friends come into town. She took the time to put her student teaching on hold, drive to Hays, Kansas, and stay with me to hang out and share the experience. I jumped at the opportunity to have her stay with me and go to the Homecoming game.

What a week!

I cannot express the joy and honor I feel whenever I think about the entire experience.