Pep rallies are common traditions to be had throughout schools in the US, including gathering all within the student body and celebrating their widely-shared school spirit. During these rallies, students and staff are able to show their spirit through games, performances, and ceremonies. While exciting, normally these events aren’t too special in comparison to past or future ones. However, this most recent pep rally was the first to occur in North Atlanta since the 2019-2020 school year. It made this pep rally especially notable, since it was the first time many students were able to attend, or participate in the event and perform in front of the school. Current seniors had been to a pep rally in this school before, but that doesn’t take away from their excitement, considering it had been three years since the last one they went to. With the significance of this event in mind, how did those participating feel about being in front of all of North Atlanta?
Even though many seniors attended the first pep rally, many of them didn’t participate in it. This time, they got their time to shine. “It was weird to have so many people looking at me, but it felt good at the same time,” said senior Dylan Walker, who was awarded the title of Prince of North Atlanta.
There are also those that performed in front of the entire school, whether that be the band, cheerleaders, or dancers. They had to put on a show, many of which were doing so for the first time. “I was definitely nervous, but I feel like we were kind of able to feed off the energy of the crowd,” said sophomore Alexandra Pegeda, the baritone section leader of the band.
There were then the seniors returning to the pep rally once again in order to perform. They got to experience this event from another perspective. “Well, I can say that it’s more exciting to be performing than watching,” said senior Jovanny Reyes, the tuba section leader of the band.
This latest pep rally was definitely a standout event for the school year so far. This being the first in three years made it something that could not be ignored. Whether students were finding themselves there for the first time or once again, the energy in that gymnasium was at a high it hadn’t reached in quite a while. It can be said with confidence that there are now many students awaiting the next one.