Homecoming is a time of fun and memorable moments to keep you motivated throughout your high school years. Schools all across the nation take part in this semi-formal dance that happens once a year, which is a key event that showcases the extent of each school’s extent of their school spirit.

This year’s Homecoming spirit week at West was probably one of the best ones yet. Previous years, fewer people would participate in spirit week and follow along with the themes of each day. There was no motivation for anyone to actually go out of their way to get an outfit for school that went perfectly with the theme. Freshmen and sophomores typically didn’t care and would wear whatever they wanted to wear during the week, while the upperclassmen were getting into the Homecoming mood.

This all changed once student activities director Katie Odell and assistant student activities director Kelly Adamovic thought of a new strategy to get more students hyped. Last year, they came up with the idea of having class competitions for each day of spring spirit week as a connection with March Madness because it was taking place within the same month.

This increased the effort and drive found within students to go all out for spirit week as each day; students would check in to the student activities, hoping their class would collect 10 spirit points at the end of the day. Competitions such as the pie-eating contest and marshmallow drop took place during lunch periods, and one student per grade had the chance to collect more points for their grade. Even faculty and staff were more involved this year, representing departments on Twitter and competing for likes and retweets.

The results of last year’s spring spirit week were the seniors leading with 38 points, juniors with 33 points, freshmen with 27 points, and sophomores with 11 points, which couldn’t even compare to the ambition and effort the students gave this year during Homecoming spirit week. This year, the juniors who previously were in the last place at the spring spirit week competition came back hungry and ready to take the title, which they did.

The results this year ended up with the juniors obtaining a total of 80 points, seniors with 5o points, and sophomores and freshmen tied with ten points each. The spirit days this year? Pajama day, sports day, Hawaiian/beach day, flashback day, and class color wars. Almost every student that I knew bought items such as onesies, slippers, sports jerseys, balls, Hawaiian leis, beach floaties, flower crowns, leather jackets, face paint, and bandanas to coordinate their outfits to match the spirit day.

I felt that this year was so much more hyped and that if you didn’t try even the slightest bit to get dressed up, you’d get shamed and judged for it. With the rising influence that the TikTok app has on many students, to me, it seems that after seeing all the videos of other schools going all out for their spirit weeks, it most likely influenced students at West to give in way more effort this year. Even during the football game, despite being rained on and delayed, students still came in with their USA themed outfits. Students brought flags, face paint, and bandanas to show off their USA pride during the game.

Overall, the festive vibes that were going on throughout spirit week were amazing and made me feel like I was in a movie or something, it just didn’t feel real how involved and dedicated the students around me were with their spirit. From having little to no spirit in previous years, this year’s Homecoming spirit week tops and, I thought, West’s most enjoyable one yet.