Is High School Not Like the Musical?

As a lifer, I’ve always looked up to the high schoolers, eager to be like them one day. Now that
I’m at the top of the “food chain” as a senior, I question if my choice to stay here for high school
was the right one. Without question, I’ve considered what my life might be like if I attended a
traditional high school. As a small private school, the School lacks high school traditions that
public schools and larger private schools have, including Friday night lights (or field lights, for
that matter), a football team, grades of over 200 people, an All School Student Body (ASB), pep
rallies, a senior lounge, and even themes for home games.

I find myself often comparing the School to other schools in the Bay Area like St. Ignatius and
Marin Academy, private schools that have more of the traditional high school experience.
Truthfully, I’m dissatisfied when we don’t have a huge student sections for sporting events (with
the exception of the Men’s Soccer NCS Finals) that are all decked out with school spirit. With
the world of social media at our fingertips, it’s impossible to avoid seeing what’s happening at
other schools. While at times, I’m envious of how some people get a traditional high school
experience, it has pushed me to lean closer to my own community here at the School.

While we’ll never have a student section with 500 kids, we can boost school spirit and make it
work with what we have. A few other seniors and I have made the humorous purchase of green
and gold overalls to rock at home games. We constantly lead chants, jumping up and down in
celebration. Truth be told, we can create our own version of a high school experience. Students at
the School should take initiative to implement change in our community. Some things will be out
of reach, like having bigger grades, but we can organize pep rallies, we can create ASB, and we
can create themes for home games. All in all, I think we can work towards offering a more
traditional high school experience as a School.