"In order to run for homecoming King at my alma mater, you need to represent a student organization in homecoming activities. I was peer pressured by some friends in a student affairs/tour guide club I was in to just do it to show my pride for the club. We had a quite a few members but not many super active ones.
Then there's the Statesman and the Women's Concert, two massive organizations. Each of those orgs always have candidates and they always win. They have mandatory participation in homecoming events and spend hundreds of dollars on the homecoming campaigns.
I had about five people helping me, and $60 to get a week of campaigning in.
All that hard work…
I was creative in my campaign, handing out cheap things that were silly (like dry cereal in the morning) or nearly free (printed out dad jokes or memes). During the week I spent every waking minute out in the campus mall campaigning.
At one of the events, tug of war, I tore my meniscus. It hurt so bad. I was watching these other groups doing flash mobs and giving out full (FULL) size candy bars and pizza, and I can’t even stand. I barely had any help as well, it was usually only me standing outside by myself when I was campaigning.
But, after the thousands of people that voted for their homecoming royalty I was the king. I have no idea how it happened, but it’s one time that I put my mind to something and did all the work myself, and I actually won.”