The Greatest Homecoming on Earth
It's GHOE, baby! If you're not familiar with what GHOE is, it's the Greatest Homecoming on Earth - the homecoming celebration of North Carolina A&T State University. I'm an Aggie through and through, with not one, but two degrees, and I even had the privilege of being a faculty member there for a few years. My days of GHOE go way back; it's practically in my DNA.
My stepdad proudly graduated from North Carolina A&T State University in 1951. He was a member of the legendary band, now known as the Blue and Gold Marching Machine. From a very early age, he would take me to North Carolina A&T, and that's where my love for cheerleading began. While he watched the games and admired the football players, I couldn't take my eyes off the cheerleaders. It’s worth mentioning that I also sent two of my daughters to North Carolina A&T, who both graduated and are Aggies as well. One became the captain of the Golden Delight Dance Team, Majorette Team, and the other served as Miss Freshman on the Royal Court. It’s a legacy of Aggie pride that runs in our family.
When I think about the Greatest Homecoming on Earth, it's more than just the festivities taking place around the city - the parties, concerts, tailgates, the game, the band, and the game. For me, my Greatest Homecoming on Earth was on August 10th, 2023, when I was released from the federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky, and finally returned home. It wasn't a straight path home, but it brought me closer to my family and my residence. That day marked the most significant homecoming of my life.
A year and eight days prior to that, I never thought I would see this day. To some, a year and eight days may seem like a short amount of time, especially when considering those with much longer sentences. However, I've come to understand that everyone’s sentence is their own trauma, and mine was a year and eight days.
But what exactly is home? Some people say home is where the heart is. Others think that home is a physical place, a wall and a door with rooms. Home is not just a physical place, but home is also within. I think home is safety. I define home as a soft place to land. Home is love. Coming home, just to me, does not mean going somewhere physically, but coming home into the truth of who I am. Me coming home is much more representative of the internal home that I found during the year and eight days that I was away, than it really is the address that I live at.
This year, as I celebrate GHOE, I'll do it a little differently. Yes, I'll be part of some of the festivities, proudly wearing the blue and gold, shouting "Aggie Pride." But alongside that, I'll also be shouting "Sharita Pride" and, from the top of my lungs, "Free at last, I'm home."
