Being active within one’s school community is one of the main factors that makes up the high school experience. Have you ever wished your school was more welcoming or exciting? Don’t you ever wish people at your school put more effort into their school spirit?

One way this can be achieved is if more effort was put into planning engaging events that all students would want to attend. If students feel more connected and comfortable with each other, school would feel more like a community rather than a place of just grades and deadlines. 

School spirit isn’t just about having fun while being at school, but also serves to better one’s chances at achieving in life. Students that feel more connected to their peers, teachers and other faculty members are more likely to get better grades, go to school regularly, have better mental health, engage in positive behavior rather than negative and are more likely to graduate even far past high school, according to the CDC. 

Also, this is high school: time for Friday night football games, dances, pep rallies and more; a time where everyone can come together, leave all their stress behind and just have fun. It is not supposed to be stressing about homework, grades, GPAs and more. For me, something I look forward to in the first semester every year is the volleyball homecoming game. What makes it so exciting is not just the game itself, but the energy and feeling of community that makes the game so much more enjoyable. If that amount of effort was put into all of our school events, our school experience would be more enjoyable for all involved. 

School spirit is more than just cheering the players on at games. It is about feeling like one belongs, like one’s accepted and that this is the place where one is supposed to be. If we all want this change to become a reality, then we all collectively need to put the effort into the change.