Mums are a big high school tradition in Texas, and will continue to be long after we graduate, but honestly they are not for everyone.

The idea of making a mum drives students wild with thoughts of how they’re going to look and how theirs’ will compare to others, but that’s not the case for me. Mums are expensive and take hours to make.

Girls have to search high and low to find materials that are cute and won’t be on the mum next to them in English class. Every girl wants to have the best mum. They will do whatever they can to attain this and have everyone’s eyes on theirs.

Mums have a wide range of things that make them different: feathers, lights, letters, small animals and the worst of all, bells. From the end of the halls, you can hear them rustle and jingle with every step the girl takes. It’s worse when there’s a massive group of them. Good luck to anyone who happens to have a headache that day.

I will admit I was crushed last year because I had no idea about Homecoming traditions. When I did find out, it was too late and my dad didn’t have the money so I was left without the chance to make a mum.

However, after hearing that my friend spent $130 on her mum, which consisted of one flower while the rest of the money was blown on extravagant decorations for the mum like lights and bells, I’m glad I saved my money. Also, her mum took about three hours to put together; I’m glad I saved my time. Now that I’m a sophomore, I’ve realized that mums are outright distracting.

Even if I’m not a fan of mums, I can give credit where credit is due, and tell the girl if hers is cute. I will not, however, stop in the middle of the hallway to have a full conversation about how much it cost, how long it took her to make, where she got her supplies from, what font her name is in, who her boyfriend is and what his garter looks like.

Even though most don’t share my mum views, I will stick by them. Look for me on Friday, I’ll be the girl without the mum.