In my high school life there have been many highs and lows. From projects, rules, and classes I have complained about and praised many things. However, there is one particular aspect of school that has sometimes rubbed me the wrong way: spirit days.

   Spirit days are supposed to build student involvement in events like football games, dances, and shows, but sometimes, rather than building school spirit, they have made me wish I wasn’t a part of this school. 

   I like spirit days that are unique, and provide an opportunity for people to do, wear, or bring something they wouldn’t on a normal day. Sometimes our spirit days feel repetitive and don’t make me excited to participate.

    Additionally, student’s should be able to participate in spirit days with what they already have, instead of needing to buy special supplies to be a part of the fun. 

   Our spirit days have sometimes fallen short for me, and I have some that I don’t want to see done again unless we change a few things.

Swimsuit Day:

   One of the lows came early in my high school career. I distinctly remember in my freshman year there was a spirit day to wear a swimsuit over your regular clothes. The only people participating in this were the student council, partially because they were required to. While I like creative spirit days, this one was a little too weird for me. 

Twin/Triplet Day:

   Another spirit day that I am not a huge fan of are twin/triplet days. Dressing up similarly isn’t super exciting and something that you could do on a regular school day. It isn’t unique. Sure they may be fun for you and your best friend to do together, but overall one of the more disappointing and forgettable spirit days.

Grade Themed Day:

   A spirit day that I have mixed feelings about are days that involve each grade having their own theme. When I was an underclassman I was intimidated by wearing a yellow shirt to call out that I’m a freshman, or wearing a pair of antlers to signal that I’m a sophomore, so I never participated. 

   However, this past semester we had a spirit day where each grade was a different stage of life. The freshmen were meant to dress up as babies, sophomores were teenagers, juniors as adults, and seniors were seniors. I also loved that they had the teachers participate as well. These types of spirit days would be better if we did something unique like this.

   While there are plenty of things that I would like to change, there have been some spirit day standouts for me. 

Anything But a Backpack Day:

   My favorite spirit day is bring anything but a backpack day. It is fresh, creative, and very funny to everyone, not just the ones participating. I’ve seen people bring microwaves, trashcans, coolers, and other unique, exciting things for everyone to enjoy. There are, of course, a few items that students are not allowed to bring (shopping carts, younger siblings, etc.), but I don’t feel like that puts a damper on the day. 

Pajama Day:

   Another that I love is pajama day. The best way to describe pajama day is low effort, high participation. These are probably the most popular spirit days due to the fact that almost every spirit week there is a PJ day for students to get excited for the break or event coming up. The only thing that I don’t like about this is that it isn’t very original and can get repetitive every year. However, it’s a fun and simple thing that everyone in the school can do.

Costume Day (Halloween):

   Halloween is a season of spooks and style. Every year we do a day during Halloween week that is dedicated to people dressing up in full costumes. It is always fun to see what people wear, from the weird and funny, to the elaborate and classic. This spirit day is a staple for the season.

  If I was a part of the student council there would be some changes and more creative spirit days. Here are some spirit days that I would love to see in the future:

Decades Day:

   I wish that we did more days based on decades. I love seeing funny costumes and interesting outfits from the past. Have people dress as they did in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s for a fun and unique way to get the school involved. This could also be turned into a grade themed day where each grade is assigned a decade to dress up as. 

Board Game Character Day:

   This isn’t a very traditional spirit day, but one I would love to see done. Students dress up as classic board game characters like the people from Clue, Candy Land, Chess, and other timeless games. This would make for some fun group costumes. It also doesn’t have to be limited to just board games; people can dress up as video game characters or any other games they love.

Alphabet Day:

   This day entails assigning each grade a random letter from the alphabet and telling them to dress up as something that starts with the letter. For example, someone could dress up as a banana, ballerina, or Batman for the letter B. This is a spirit day that I’ve never seen our school do, but it’s never too late to try out something new!

   There have been many spirit days that missed the mark, and many that I favor. Spirit days shouldn’t be something that I groan at, but rather things that are creative and cultivate enthusiasm among the student body. I hope that in the future our spirit days will be an exciting event for the entire school and not something that the student body is half-heartedly participating in, as I have felt many times.