High school may not be the highlight of your life, but senior year should most definitely be the pinnacle of your high school experience. If there was ever a time to participate in spirit week activities, senior year would be it. We’re less than a year away from leaving the comfort of high school and becoming actual functioning members of society. This is our last year before we’re expected to be adults. Who knows the next time you’ll pretend to ride on an imaginary roller coaster after we graduate?

I’d be lying if I said I’ve always been the school-spirited type, though. Honestly, I spent my  first three years of high school somewhat indifferent to school spirit. For me, shortened classes on the days of pep assemblies were more anticipated than the pep assemblies themselves, football season was too chilly to be spent outside cheering for a sport I didn’t understand and spirit days always slipped my mind until walking into school that morning.

This year however, as the first of the last high school activities seniors will enjoy for the last time, I find myself putting in way more effort to participate than my previous three years combined.

For my final homecoming week, I went out of my way to dress up for each of the Valleywood themed spirit days, even going out on several occasions to buy clothes and other articles to complete spirit day outfits that weren’t already in my closet. While this is totally not necessary, some sort of participation is not only encouraged, but expected. It was super frustrating this year to see people “forget” every single day.

Failing to participate in spirit week results in having to face the wrath of your entire class and reasonably so. Participation is as easy as stopping by Wal-Mart for a $5 Superman T-shirt or texting a friend to borrow one.