Niles North’s 2013 homecoming will be taking place on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. With the approaching date, I know I can feel the rising excitement, which makes me surprised to hear from the people who aren’t anticipating on going to homecoming.

I strongly encourage freshmen and seniors to go. Freshmen, I know you do not know what to expect, but you will honestly regret not attending homecoming, especially when all of your peers have stories about homecoming to tell and you don’t. Seniors, this is your last homecoming. Are you seriously going to miss out on your last one?

Regardless of someone’s year, missing homecoming would be a mistake, especially if the reason is not having a date. I’m not going with a date, my friends aren’t going with dates, a lot of other people aren’t! So what you don’t have a date? It’s more fun without a date. Homecoming is the time to meet new people. People are ultimately there to have fun, so why not be open to the possibility of making new friends? It is an excuse to dance, even if that means dancing with someone random.

For people who love dancing, homecoming is awesome; but even if you don’t particularly love to dance, homecoming is still worthwhile for the social aspect. Homecoming is one of the few social gatherings provided. Unlike Prom, which is for seniors and juniors only, and social gatherings pertaining to people in particular clubs, homecoming is the one overarching event open for everyone, no matter their club or year. In my personal opinion, that’s an opportunity that I’m not going to miss.