It’s finally here; the most wonderful time of the school year: Homecoming.

Many Niles West students look forward to the festivities that the Homecoming season brings us: the assembly, the parade, the school spirit days, the Homecoming football game, and of course, the Homecoming dance.

Notice how all of these events revolve around one main theme–school spirit.

So what exactly is school spirit? Is it wearing red and white on Fridays? Is it going crazy with the face paint during school spirit week? Or is it going to all the home athletic contests?

To me, school spirit entails all those things,  but there’s more to it.

Last week, I attended the Fall Orchestra Concert. For those of you who don’t know me, I am not musically gifted as many of our peers are. In fact, I kind of hate music. Why then, would I endure an hour and a half of live classical orchestra music? For one and one reason only: to support my friends. A lot of my friends are in orchestra, and two of them even had solos.

I attended the concert with some friends, and we sat through the entire concert. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed it. And what’s better, the orchestra members honestly did appreciate our attendence. Something as trivial to me as listening to classical music meant the world to someone else.

So, what exactly is school spirit? Yeah, paint your face, wear red and white on Friday, but most importantly, go support your school and peers. For those of you who don’t regularly go to football games, come out Friday night. For those of you who have never been to a school play, go watch one. Perhaps you have no interest in these subjects, but it will make the school a more fun place, and it will enhance your high school years.

It’s finally Homecoming week. What are you going to do?