Hoco. Apparently, the traditional Homecoming weekend now has its own acronym!

This was news to me this year as a first-time parent of a high school freshman. (Honestly most days I struggle to determine what my three daughters are trying to say while they speak in acronyms to me!)

If you have a high school student in Frisco may have heard ‘Hoco' mentioned countless times over the past few months. You probably also watched your student experience a whirlwind of emotions. Excitement one minute, then “Should I even attend” and then getting stressed out and nervous about the whole thing.

As a parent, it was kind of like watching the movie ‘Inside Out'…each of my daughter's emotions playing a role in this teenage milestone event.

My daughter Ava was so very excited to attend freshman homecoming this year at Heritage High School until her daddy presented her with Imagine Dragons tickets on the same night. It created a real dilemma in our household… Ava, like most girls, has grown up dreaming about what her first high school dance experience would be like! The dress, the mum, the whole thing.

Luckily she had options! Since many of her friends go to Memorial High School she chose to attend their Hoco event a week later. She got the best of both worlds – seeing Imagine Dragons in Concert and her first Hoco experience! (It's good to be a teenager in Frisco, huh?)

As a parent, it was exciting (and a little sad!) to see our daughter looking all grown up to attend Hoco. As the saying goes, “time passes by in the blink of an eye so cherish every moment.”

Ava Axtell

For those of you with students approaching this milestone event (or maybe prom this spring), here's the Frisco ‘Hoco' experience straight from my daughter Ava. Maybe her personal experience of the event will be useful when it's your teenager's turn!

Hoco Through the Eyes of a High School Freshman

Whenever you watch a movie about high school, the media portrays it as an amazing experience and they really highlight how magical homecoming and prom can be. It promises that it will be fairytale-esque where you're Cinderella or a beautiful ballerina. But the way movies portray the experience isn't real.

My first homecoming was something that I was sort of excited for but also really nervous about… And it’s okay to feel like that.

Hoco Tip #1: Start dress shopping early!

The first thing I did was try to find ‘the perfect dress’ – and not break my parent’s pocketbook! My mom and I made a fun little mother-daughter date out of it.

We went to Nordstrom’s to look and I narrowed it down to three dresses to choose from that sort of reminded me of Clara from the Nutcracker. ‘I love to dance and love all things pink!”

I settled on a dress that had sequins at the top and a flowy skirt at the bottom so that it would be easy to dance in.

I was also thankful that I found a dress when I did because the one that I got was one of the last dresses the company was going to sell this year.

Hoco Tip #2: Super cute, but sensible shoes.

A couple of weeks later, the day before homecoming in fact, my mother and I went shoe shopping. I knew what color I wanted so I thought it would be an easy trip, but the decision was more challenging than I anticipated.

My goal was to find a pair of shoes that were comfortable and I could dance the night away in! Who knew DSW would have so many cute styles of shoes in the same color to choose from. It was shoes galore – every girl's dream!

I narrowed it down to a cute pair of nude strappy sandals with a wide heel. All my friends who had attended previous homecomings mentioned staying away from thin or stiletto-like heels because you can't dance in them.

Hoco Tip #3: Have fun and make memories while getting ready!

The day of homecoming finally arrived! I was excited and nervous! That morning, my mom and I went to the nail salon to get our nails done.

I've never been allowed to get the ‘Nexgen’ nails (although I've been begging to for some time). My mom is very holistic and always concerned about what we eat or chemicals that are put in/on our bodies. Plus, both of my parents are kind of old school and feel like certain events in life for my sisters and I are ‘a rite of passage’. I guess Hoco marked the rite of passage because I was able to choose what I wanted that day! Hoorah!

While a lot of people I know had their hair and makeup done professionally, my group of friends opted to get ready together and have my friend's college-aged sister do our makeup. It was a lot better than going to a place to get my makeup done because it was super calm and we got to hang out together chit-chatting away. Plus, her sister did a really good job!

We journeyed into another friend Morgan’s house to finish out the last Hoco preparations for the night. Hair time dilemma! I wasn’t sure whether to wear my hair in an updo or in waves down. Another great reason to get ready with friends – just in case you need hair advice! In the end, I wore it down in flowy waves.

Hoco Tip #4: Say ‘Hoco’ and Toss thy shoes!

After everyone was ready, we left to take some pictures. All the photos turned out really pretty because it was the golden hour. Then, after taking some photos, we met up with the rest of our group at Tupelo Honey, an amazing southern style restaurant at the Star. Everyone in my group seemed to think that the food was really good.

Once we arrived at homecoming, the first thing we did was take off our shoes so we could dance the night away! We danced and sang along to the music and had a great time! We spent about 2 hours at homecoming before heading back to my friend’s house for s’mores, a fire, and swimming.

Overall, it was a great experience that I’ll always remember – and it wasn't worth stressing about.

The post Hoco Through the Eyes of a Frisco Freshman appeared first on lifestylefrisco.com.