The stadium lights, the chill in the air, the explosive sound of screaming fans, the brilliantly decorated floats that circle the track, the booming fireworks that crackle overhead…

   And, of course, the traditional crowning of Homecoming royalty.

   Unlike many of my friends and peers, I do not disdain the thought of this annual popularity contest, nor have I ever dreamt of becoming Homecoming Queen.

   I believe that Homecoming royalty is a great concept, but that people lose sight of its true purpose: to acknowledge those who have made a positive impact on others and who have contributed to our school.

   What should be an honorable award is made out to be either a superficial competition, or just one big joke by Granite Bay High School students.

   The downward spiral begins every year with royalty nominations.

   The nomination forms include spaces for extracurricular activities and leadership roles for each nominee. The goal is to have students nominate those who they feel truly deserve to be recognized.

   While a majority of students nominate their peers based on character and merit, a good portion of the nominations are either based on pacts made between best friends, jokes made to mock students, or self-nominations made by those who cheat the system in order to glorify and draw attention to themselves.

   It is perfectly acceptable for friends to nominate or vote for one another, as long as each friend’s intentions are not only to ensure that he or she is nominated in return. Vote for your friends because you support them, not because you want to persuade them to vote for you as well.

   Also, nominating or voting for students who you think would be “funny” to vote for is both disrespectful and degrading. If you have no intention of voting for him or her, why bother?

   Even though royalty is meant to honor people for their outstanding personal qualities and contributions, Homecoming tends to bring out the worst in people.

     Girls who desperately dream of becoming Homecoming queen will even resort to nominating themselves if they have to. However, anyone who truly deserves to be named Homecoming King or Queen is someone who is selfless and does not desire to claim the spotlight.

   During Homecoming season, it is important to keep things in perspective: although it is a great honor to be chosen for Homecoming royalty, it’s not something that will be significant later on in life, or even a year from now.

    For everyone who laughs at the idea of yet another glittering parade of royalty, I have one suggestion: change it.

   Royalty has a reputation of being superficial because we allow it to be. If you nominate people who bring something unique to the royalty court, then I’ll vote for them, and I’m sure others will do the same.