It wasn’t until I came to college that I realized what homecoming was. Homecoming is the long standing tradition where alumni are invited to return to their school, usually for a football game. I’ve always loved homecoming week. There’s electricity in the air. Our school spirit is on display, for everyone to see. The student competitions, the decorations, and the events all building up to the big game. This love for a school, for a team, is at times unexplainable, but so real.
Some may argue that homecoming is just another football game. I’d disagree. This week is a week that brings people together. It’s an opportunity to celebrate all the things we love about UW. The little things. The aspen trees that greet us on our walk to class, wearing gold leaves that match our school colors. Meeting up with a friend from class at the library to work on a homework assignment. The assignment ends up taking 2 hours to finish, but you struggle through it together. The professors who remember your name and truly care about your success. The laughter and shouts of joy the student section shares after a touchdown. All of these little things make up the University of Wyoming. They make up the community and place I’ve come to call home.
One day we will all be people with careers and families. We will graduate and go on to be doctors, engineers, writers, and professors. Yet the University of Wyoming will always hold a place in our hearts. One day we will take the time to come home. We’ll walk past the Union and see the students walking to class, a sea of unknown faces, full of potential. Years later we will still wear our brown and gold and cheer on our team. No one will be able to take that magic, our shared bond, away. Once a cowboy, always a cowboy.