High School, a time of Friday night football games, proms, and failing grades that’ll never be pulled up. But what exactly is high school if you take out all these things? The answer is it’s not. High school is about splattering school-colored body paint all over yourself every Friday night to support your football team, and waking up every Saturday morning with a sore throat from shouting the school cheers the entire game. This is what makes high school fun, not the stress of endless homework, hopeless grades, and waking up every morning at the crack of dawn. So the question remains, why do North Atlanta students only focus on the down sides of high school and not the fun parts? Where did all our school spirit go and what caused it to disappear?

I always hear students and friends talk about the lack of school spirit in our community. But I never see any changes or hear why students don’t wish to participate in school functions. Personally, I feel one reason is that North Atlanta administrators are too strict. I will use a school event like homecoming as an example. At homecoming, there was a very strict dress code, so strict that if your dress did not pass, you weren’t allowed in. A rule like this turns kids away. We already spend eight hours a day, five days a week, being treated like elementary school students, so why would we give up our free nights to go be put under the same treatment we get all week?

Another school event that receives surprisingly little attention is football games. Football season is the time of the year everyone looks forward to, but the North Atlanta student section sits empty week after week. Some say no one goes because our football team doesn’t win, but even if kids did go, it wouldn’t be to actually watch the football team play. It’d be to hang out with their friends wearing school spirited clothing and eat candy from the concession stands.

I find the lack of school spirit within our community aggravating and frustrating. Personally, I want to attend homecoming dances, football games, and other school functions, and I know I cannot be the only student who feels that way. So why don’t we? North Atlanta is an amazing school that provides us with every academic tool needed to succeed and achieve our highest dreams. But it can also provide us with fun and exciting ways to meet new people and grow as individuals. We just have to let it.