Have you ever had a moment in your life when the rain ruined your plans? Maybe you had a party or a get-together that was postponed (usually indefinitely) because a freak storm swept through the area.
Everyone has had one of those days, and I feared that that would happen on the second to last day of Bowie State University’s Homecoming. Luckily, the rain didn’t stop the collective urge to have community after a pretty hectic start to the school year.
Honestly, the consensus was that the game would get rained out, the field would be too slippery, etc. That Saturday, the forecast all week had predicted rain 24/7, but when it was the fourth quarter, there was still no sign of rain! Now, I won’t say that people weren’t freezing because, let’s be honest, last year it was hot. Alas, I sat comfortably with my fellow Bulldogs and enjoyed a hotdog as the wind beat on all of our faces.
The best part before the sun went down? Our team won the Homecoming game and the quad was jumpin’. Pretty much every fraternity and sorority had music, food, community, and just great vibes happening all around the center of campus. I walked around so many times and got to see so many people I hadn’t seen too much during the school week, let alone weekends since a lot of students have outside jobs.
And then, the rain finally came.
You would think that everyone ran for cover, right? Wrong. From students, to outside visitors, to alumni, people refused to let the rain come between the community celebrating a college well loved by its people. Sure, did some people go inside the? Yes. I am included in that number.
No one stayed inside for long, is my point. Even when the wind would blow and it felt like it was raining because of the water from the leaves on the tree, the music stayed on and the DJs kept it live. After a while, I met up with some more friends and decided to check out another party on campus. Of course, it was all the way across in one of the parking lots, but hey, Homecoming is a campus-wide event. Be prepared to walk!
Of course, it started raining five minutes after my group got comfortable in a huge crowd of people (and cars). Like, it was pouring this time. So what else could my friends and I do except pull out the umbrellas and run for cover. Cover means my dorm and my room. For the five minutes I was there though, I saw so many people just happy to be partying with each other and even people they had only just met.
There’s something to say about not letting an event like a storm get in the way of what you truly enjoy doing. Our area is extremely lucky that Hurricane Ian didn’t hit us and that we only got the residual baby thunderstorms that swept through Maryland. My fellow Bulldogs not only kept it safe this Homecoming, but kept it fun too. I even stopped by the Student Center and saw that the alumni were having their own party in the ballroom. Talk about generational ties!
Eventually, anyone 18+ came back out for the After Party and by that point, it had stopped raining and was only lightly drizzling. My friends made the walk all the way across campus because we knew we loved having fun and that we didn’t want to miss this event. And on the walk back, it was warmer outside and already two in the morning. Homecoming may have had better weather, but BSU knows how to make the best out of any situation.
Homecoming is the best part of the year, and we don’t play about seeing our loved ones, rain or shine!