Throughout the time you were in the classroom, from elementary to high school and especially at college, you were bound to meet people who were not afraid to show off their school pride.
No one is really ever school spirited while in elementary and middle school, which is no big deal. We were all too young to even think about saying why we loved our school because no one focused on that aspect; we spent the majority of our time learning and playing outside.
In high school, school pride started to become a big deal and taught teens that wearing your school colors, going to sports events or taking part in spirit days could be a fun experience where the whole school could show off why they love their school. High school spirit days/events are really a preview to the biggest and craziest venue to be proud and excited about a school: college.
People at college are constantly representing their school or showing off their school pride. Some do the minimum by wearing school spirit wear or their school colors, and others may go to the extreme by painting their bodies and going to all of the sports games to cheer like there is no tomorrow. There are no dress codes at higher education institutes, so students can wear whatever spirited clothing and accessories they want.
I believe it is important to be school spirited in college, because everyone should be proud to be attending their school. You do not have to attend every sporting event. Just wearing your school colors or spirit wear does the job, but I think that going to school events and vocalizing why you love your school is important to your college experience.
Going to school events, such as a tie-dye workshop or a concert, during your free time is something I suggest everyone try at least once. Most of the events that are on your school's campus are either free or very affordable for a college student -- and they are really fun! So whenever you get bored and do not know what to do, check your campus social media pages or website and see what is going on. It is fun to do things you do not normally do and go out of your comfort zone, because you never know who you will meet or what could happen.
As for sports events and games, I think it is extremely important to go to at least one. At these events, students and faculty can really express how much they support their home team. If you have never gone to any games because you are shy, do not like sports, or do not think you have time for it, then go to one anyways and see what it is like. Personally, I love showing off my school spirit. I am currently an officer for the Radford Rowdies at Radford University, the hype squad for RU, and I love it. The atmosphere at any game I go to is so positive and crazy that it is contagious. Everyone comes together and tries to make the most commotion in the stands as possible to get the players hyped and motivated, and to keep the audience spirited as well. Being a part of the crowd and the atmosphere that follows makes me want to join in and be loud and proud of my school.
No matter who you are or what personality you have, showing your school pride is important. However, you do not have to be a member of your college's hype squad to cheer on your sports teams. You could go with your friends, family, classmates, or even by yourself and still have a great time showing off your school spirit. Attending sports events might even be the one thing that gets you out of your comfort zone and gives you the chance to be happy and loud without any rules to follow.
I am not saying that not showing your school pride is bad -- I just think you should be proud of your school and be able to freely show off how great you believe it really is. You want to look back at your college years and smile about all of the things you had the privilege of being a part of. Supporting and showing love for your school should be something we all reminisce about and are glad we did.
