As the air turns colder and students cram for midterm exams, Spartans everywhere start to feel the green-and-white spirit flowin' in their veins.
The marching band seems to be practicing more loudly every day, people are walking around humming the fight song and even the statue of "The Spartan" seems to be smiling. This can all only mean one thing:
It's time for Homecoming.
From Sept. 29 to Oct. 4, MSU will be celebrating "MSU: Roots of Excellence." The week will be filled with fun activities to make students and alumni proud and excited to be Spartans.
The university has planned everything from a craft night (6-8 p.m. today in the Union) to a fireworks show (7:30 p.m. Friday at the IM Sports-East field).
If that's not enough, there will also be a parade, a pep rally, a s'mores party, concerts and a football game, of course.
In the distant days of high school, everyone who was anyone got excited for the homecoming festivities.
Homecoming meant a football game, pep rallies, spirit week and a dance. From the homecoming king and queen to the very last class clown, everyone made sure to be there for every event.
But not as many students get worked up about homecoming at the college level.
Many see no difference between a homecoming football game and any other. Others might think Homecoming is mostly for alumni. And the rest are probably unaware of all the fun activities MSU has provided for them during this special week. Why wouldn't students want to take advantage of fun, free activities hosted by their university? There is something for everyone at Homecoming, from the kind of fan that memorizes every football player's name and number to the one who's yet to set foot inside Spartan Stadium.
With all the planning and effort that goes into making each Homecoming happen, more students should be participating and displaying school pride.
There is no reason why Homecoming should lose its luster after high school.
In fact, as everyone gets older and more mature, students should be even more proud of their future alma mater.
Homecoming in college is just like homecoming in high school, but on a much bigger level - and just because you don't know the names of all your classmates doesn't mean you can't share your spirit with one another.
It's already Wednesday, but there are still plenty of activities left for everyone to participate in.
The MSU home page has a link to a listing of all the Homecoming events as well as where and when they will take place.
Show your true colors this week by celebrating with fellow Spartans, past and present.
Get into the groove of school spirit and Spartan pride now - the four or five years spent here will be over much too quickly.
If you attend and participate in events such as Homecoming, you'll have endless memories and good times to talk about when you return to future Homecomings as an alumnus.
