For years, a lively rivalry has existed between North Atlanta and Henry W. Grady High School, our APS sister high school. Most students have no personal opinion on the rivalry and would rather talk about something with far less substance, like Kylie Jenner’s pregnancy. But some, like me, have advanced feelings about the rivalry between our schools and can formulate an entire story on their opinion of it.

Now a rivalry can be either intense or friendly. You know: Nike vs. Adidas, Ford vs. Chevy, Fresca vs. … well, I don’t know what Fresca is against. Now Grady — our beloved sister institution, I must stress! — has never done anything against me personally. But, still: They’re our rival, right? I have to have something against it, right? So, here goes!

Maybe it seems like I am being overly dramatic, but there are so many reasons that North Atlanta trumps Grady, starting with the most obvious of them all: our tremendous school building. Sure, students there may attend school in an historic structure that has been standing since 1924, but what is that compared to a $150 million IBM building with 11 stories, a colossus fit for 2,000 kids? We have all the facilities a student could dream of, including a huge gym, theater, multiple art rooms, and state of the art equipment for science, film and art classes. Aside from being partial owners of a decent stadium that our two schools must share, Grady High School cannot claim any superiority to North Atlanta in regards to a physical campus. (And you should see the panoramic view from my 10th floor French class!)   

Even some factors that have nothing to do with our facilities put us a step above our cross-town rivals. Sure, Grady may have had higher SAT scores in past years, but at North Atlanta, we work hard and persevere, never allowing a setback to deter us from our ultimate goal of academic excellence and domination in stairwell climbing. (After all, we have the market cornered on stairwells, right?)

Students here come from everywhere and excel at everything from varsity sports to robotics to the arts. And we’ll give credit to our friends at Grady. They certainly dominate in those all-important hipster categories. In the “cooler-than-thou” competition, we are mere amateurs compared to our counterparts on Charles Allen Drive. We readily concede that Grady kids are the best at finding the best coffee shops and the most obscure and artsy places around the city to take pictures. All that said, those skills can’t even compare to a North Atlanta’s student’s ability to find the best snow cone truck in Seaside. (Frostbites, naturally!)

For years, North Atlanta has been the intersection of excellent education and passionate students who are ready to change the world. We take pride in our school’s accomplishments and always strive to do our best. It takes a special kind of school to produce as many bright, talented and ambitious students as our school does. Whether or not we are being compared to other high schools like Grady, it is always a safe bet to assume that North Atlanta is the best and always will be. But we’ll concede we’re a tad on the biased side.

Rivalries: Life is more fun with them. So, Grady, even though you’re our rival, you’re like a sibling we couldn’t live without. We love ya! Sort of. Go Warriors!