Turning back the clock: our first turnabout experience
Turnabout king and queen, Andrew Smith and Emily Carido (12)
A totally new dance experience was kicked off by a great spirit week. Pajama Day on Tuesday had a half-and-half kind of vibe. There were some students that came to school completely decked out in onesies, sweats and a t-shirt, sweatshirts, and people that actually wore pajamas. However, there were individuals on the other end of that spectrum that just showed up to school in regular clothes.
A lot more people dressed up for Well-Dressed Wednesday than expected. There were students wearing nice outfits, dresses, dress shirts, and even suits.
Throwback Thursday was, surprisingly, a huge flop. I saw a total of about five people, including myself, that were actually wearing throwback clothes. My friend and I both wore our ILMEA band t-shirts from eighth grade, and I saw a few freshmen wearing shirts from whatever middle schools they went to. Other than that, Throwback Thursday was just like any other ordinary Thursday.
Friday had the best participation by far. Each class wore their colors, with the exception of a few forgetful outliers. I personally love the separation of colors between classes because I learn who is in what class.
The assembly was better than others in previous years, but it still wasn’t our best. There were a few things that seemed out of place and made the flow of the assembly itself feel choppy. All of the sport related activities were strung together well; all of the Turnabout related events had some form of flow to them. Despite the choppiness between the two, the Turnabout and sports portions of the assembly were both great on their own. The staff vs. student basketball game, as well as the Turnabout court and crowning of the King and Queen, seemed to be enjoyed by everyone. However, I personally believe that the best part of the whole assembly was right at the beginning when everyone in the gym turned their flashlights on at the same time, and Andrew Smith (12), better known as “Chick,” ran around the gym and basically conducted a wave of lights.
The dance itself was fun, but I did hear the same minor complaints over and over throughout the night as well as in the days following the dance. Multiple people said that the music was terrible, which I can agree with. There weren’t any songs that made you want to run in to hear if you were standing in the cafeteria. All of the songs were those songs you hear on the radio that are really overplayed. Along with that, the music was so loud. It was loud enough, with high enough bass that you were able to feel the music as soon as you got past the half court line in the gym. I also heard about the lights being too much or too blinding; although I’ll admit, they did hurt when they flashed in your eyes, but they were still really cool! Despite all of the people that thought they were too much, there were, even more people that said they were one of the coolest parts about the night.
Overall, the week was a fun experience. After not having Turnabout for so many years, getting it back, even if it was just for this year, was definitely worth it.
