As freshmen, perhaps the most common piece of advice we received was to join clubs, sports, or other organizations. Being part of a group comes with its benefits: 1, your college application is that much more colorful; 2, you get to meet more people, and most importantly; 3, the memories you have of high school is what sticks with you for the rest of your life, and there is no better way to make positive memories than to get involved.

Sure, there are a lot of activities like sports, theatre, and certain clubs that are demanding and require a lot of commitment. For those of you who are not able to make large commitments, here is your chance to get involved: Homecoming Week 2012.

It can be as simple as wearing your pajamas to school or as involved as building a float, but what’s important is that you participate. There’s no reason to “feel stupid” or “look ugly” during this week, especially since everyone else looks just as ridiculous.

The atmosphere is much more engaging and fun if more people participate in the spirit days. The only way to get there is if you participate in it yourself. If everyone was just concerned for themselves, the entire school would be decked out in spirit, and how cool would that be?

When you look back at high school at the end of the day, you’re not going to remember how “cute” you dressed, how good your hair looked, nor how you were “too cool for school.” But rather, you’ll remember that you won the hallway decorating contest, packed the contest gym with red and white, and had a great time dressing up for Spirit Week.  So make it happen, Niles West, and make those memories that want to cherish forever.

Here are your chances to get involved this week:

Monday, Oct. 1

Pajama Day

Tuesday, Oct. 2

Dynamic Duo Day

Wednesday, Oct. 3

Crazy Hair Day

Thursday, Oct. 4

Zombies vs. Aliens Day

Float Building after school

Friday, Oct. 5

Red and White Day

Attend the Homecoming Assembly

Watch the Homecoming Parade

Support the girl football players in Powderpuff

Cheer on the football team as they play New Trier