4512 Hours

A world without spirit is as lifeless as a world without Netflix. As a student of St. Thomas Aquinas, high school is your world for four years. You’ll spend a rough estimate of 4512 hours at school. That’s like if you were to watch all ten seasons of Friends 52 times! Predictably, the hours will become dull, but with a little spirit, even the last hour can be exciting.

Walking the halls of STA, it’s obvious that the ugly majority of students are apathetic towards school involvement. How come we all support the football team when it means missing class, but when there’s an organized event after school, no interest is shown? Students want as little to do with school as possible, but without spirit, there’s no way it can be fun. At times it feels like a graveyard could have more life than St. Thomas Aquinas.

In order to achieve anything in high school (or any aspect of life) your attitude is crucial. Having school spirit means getting involved and when STA has such a range of activities, you can do just that. Seriously, we have a curling team! If you feel one of your particular interests is missing from the selection, talk to a staff member to create a club. Everyone has talents, so why wouldn’t you exercise them at a place where you spend most of your time. Finding something that offers you enjoyment will make going to school worthwhile.

It’s not only important to get involved in clubs and teams but to also get involved in events. Spirit days tend to be treated like civvies days and the turn-out for organized activities is limited if not non-existent. As mature as you want to be, you’re all still living under someone else’s roof. Are you really too cool for a school dance or a bit of dress up? Just think, school won’t be such a stressful place if you’re mixing work with laid-back days. Nevertheless, the school is only going to organize events if students participate. With participation, you will not just feel like a student, but a part of the community.

When you look back at your high school years, you won’t want to remember yourself doing anything but work (you’ll be seeing enough of that in the future). Spirited students will gain much more from their high school experience than the unenthusiastic. Surely, you’re more likely to remember joining your first club than everything you learned in Grade 9 geography.

Our world needs spirit. It needs energetic people who can bring life back into everyday routine – people who can make the 4512 hours of high school count.

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