Lessons I Learned At My Last High School Homecoming

There I was -- standing in the senior section of the bleachers at my last homecoming pep rally -- when I suddenly had one of those "light bulb" moments. I looked at the people around me, and I sensed a deeper feeling than just school spirit. I realized that the section was composed of so many different types of people, as if the bonds of high school cliques and social status were slowly coming apart.

I'm the first one to admit that my school (and myself included) could use a little more school spirit. Especially as someone whose specialty is definitely not organized athletics, I can find myself a bit unenthused at the idea of sitting through an entire game with little idea of what's actually going on. We find comfort in our cliques and, among the stress of regular high school life, sometimes let ourselves become overly cynical. We often complain after a lackluster pep rally, but forget to remember that we're the most critical instrument in making those pep rallies themselves more enjoyable.

I guess senior year is often the year of "too little, too late." We spent three whole years of homecoming games and pep rallies wishing that we were already the ones coming home from college just to visit, rather than being the ones watching from the bleachers. For three years we hesitated to participate in the cheers at each pep rally because we were afraid of embarrassing ourselves. For three years we wondered just why the seniors were so adamant to win that spirit stick. However, this homecoming -- our very last homecoming -- I finally felt a shift in sentiment.

In this last homecoming pep rally together, and so many other moments in just the beginning of senior year, I have seen a sense of unity and cooperation that I never thought I would. I watched people just like me (with not an athletic bone in their body) and our school's best athletes and so many people in between come together to cheer for something bigger than ourselves. It's as if senior year waved a magic wand over our entire class and finally taught us to appreciate and support each other rather than to retreat into the comfort of the usual cliquey, high school behavior. That day, it was as if we got to skip that whole first part of "Mean Girls" and get right to the part where Cady Heron breaks her Spring Fling Queen crown into little pieces and throws it into the crowd for everyone to enjoy.

So to everyone who has ever given the advice for high school seniors to live in and appreciate every little moment, I guess this is me swallowing my pride and saying that you're right. So let us look forward with an open mind to college and each day of our lives after that, but never forget the life-changing people and experiences we've found throughout all four years of high school.