Ever since my freshman year, 2014, I have participated in spirit week. I would go all out for the spirit days leading up to the Friday night lights, and the exhilarating dance has never gotten less exciting. I absolutely love spirit week and everything involved in that week of fall. It is always a little intimidating to dress up and try to outdo everyone with the wacky outfits, and stepping outside of my comfort zone. Some of my favorite spirit week days from 2014-2017 have been character day, age day, gender swap day, career day, class color day, costume day, etc. To me, it’s not about how well you fit in with everyone and be like everyone else; it is about how much you can stick out and make people think about what you are.

This Monday for dynamic duo day, I dressed up as Beverly Marsh from the new Stephen King remake “IT” while my friend, Zach Smith, dressed up as her companion, Ben. I had to make my hair look short and apply freckles with makeup! IT was so much fun and a little challenging to pull off, but I think I broadcasted it well.

The second day was tourist day, which is pretty basic, but it was still fun to participate in. I wore jorts (jean shorts), a t-shirt, button up with a Hawaaiin style, long white socks, and my unfortunately well known Chaco sandals. I accessorized with a pair of binoculars, a fanny pack, and a pair of sunglasses to top it all off.

Wednesday, character day, I dressed in a black long sleeve turtleneck, mom jeans, loafers, a gold chain and one gold hoop earring, as, you guessed it, a younger, not yet famous, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson from around the 80’s. People laughed at me as I laughed with them, it was simply a spark of genius that was acknowledged by many. People I didn’t even know laughed and said, “Aye, The Rock, is that you?”

Thursday was age day, and each grade level dressed as something different. Seniors were senior citizens, and I went all out! Wrinkles and age spots plopped on my face with makeup, curlers in my hair, assisted with a light blue below the knee dress with panty hose, and my loafers again. I had to accessorize with glasses on a string, pearl earrings, and of course, my handy dandy cane, to help this old body move around. I had my coach of four years not even recognize me when I walked by.

Friday, the big day we’ve all been waiting for with the homecoming football game, dance, and pep assembly. The theme was neon day, so I wore as much neon attire as possible. From head to toe, I wore my hair down, which was eventually crowned with a gold cardboard crown with the words “SPIRIT QUEEN” written on it. A neon orange sheer long sleeve crop top under my neon pink crop top. My neon teal leggings from Savers were tightly on my legs under my neon yellow Nike shorts, complimenting my neon pink breast cancer socks which lit my white Nikes up like a Christmas tree. I was called down and presented my crown with my great friend Ryan McPherson, who was then presented with his golden crown saying “SPIRIT KING.”

I think it’s very important to participate in every spirit week day because it gets you very involved and more known around school. It’s fun to pretend to be who you aren’t sometimes. I would encourage everyone to do every single spirit day and just embrace all of the weirdness it may hold sometimes. You’re not gonna want to look back on high school and think about all the opportunities you missed.