Screams of celebration rang through the stadium as the two ladies’ names came out, one crowned queen, the other given an honorary bouquet. On Sept. 27, 2024, the homecoming queen and maid of honor received their commemorations at Tiger Stadium at Grim Park before the homecoming game.
Homecoming remains one of the most special traditional aspects of the Texas High School heart. Featuring twelve girls, who recently became nominated for the 2024 court. All of them stand in their gowns, with their mums in hand, and line the football field to see who will be the next queen and maid of honor.
“I just got very emotional,” Homecoming Queen Tulsi Patel said. “Because it’s something that I’ve thought about for a while, and it’s like finally coming true.”
With a volleyball game against the same district, Hallsville, just hours before the football game, the senior volleyball player became nominated for maid of honor.
“It feels great,” Carlyn Clack said. “Because it shows [that] I have a lot of support around the school. Although I didn’t win, it doesn’t mean Tulsi didn’t deserve it.[She] deserved every part of it. She worked so hard as a band major and in school. I love her and I’m so proud of her.”
All of the maids remain proud of each other and give tremendous support, regardless of not being crowned. Even though all of them had nervous emotions and didn’t know what to expect, they stood strong with confidence and pushed forward.
“It was really, really scary,” Aubrie Badgett said. “I was shocked to even make [the] ballot. I was just so excited, because I knew it was coming in.”
Despite the fact that some members of the court felt anxious, most considered the occasion to be quite fun.
“It was really fun, and it was a really special moment just to be a part of something so amazing with all these girls [and] my friends.” Taylor Nicole Jones said. “I love them all and it was just an enjoyable, memorable moment.”
With the Queen crowned and the maid of honor given her a beautiful bouquet, they both share their own piece of advice for next year’s homecoming court.
“Be yourself,” Patel said. “It’s not about who gets Queen because at the end of the day all of us are queens, and we all got to experience that together. You wouldn’t want to do it with any other girls.”
The maid of honor gives her advice upon receiving the title.
“Don’t ever doubt yourself,” Clack said. “Because I didn’t think I would be the maid of honor. Never put yourself below what you possibly can be. Always think you’re a half glass full, not half empty.”
