It’s a sunny morning in May. As they prepare for school, students make an effort to craft the perfect outfit, or they simply throw on a colored shirt and walk out the door. Either way, anticipation grows as they approach the school. For some, this is just another school day but for others it is the last of its kind. This is the day where you can wear a boa and paint on your face and not give it a second thought. For the seniors, it’s a new milestone in their lives — the last pep rally of the school year at Lewis Mills.
A buzz of excitement fills the school. Kids roam the halls talking about the pep rally and complementing each other’s outfits. Yellow for freshmen, green for sophomores, red for juniors, and blue for seniors.
During the cafeteria study halls students decorate themselves in their respective colors. A group of sophomores in the corner of the room share the green face paint with their friends. A boy carefully describes to his friend what design he wants on his face. She leans in excitedly and begins to paint. Both students fall silent, trying to create a flawless image. After it is done, he picks up his phone and checks her work. A nod of approval is all the words needed.
Taking the “Color Wars” seriously seems to have become a tradition in Lewis Mills, especially for seniors Liam O’Sullivan and Nate Misluk. Each year these two dress up to their full potential for color wars. They both look back fondly on all of their spirit week experiences. On this, their final spirit week moment, Nate shares that one of the things he will miss most about Mills is the tradition of “making yourself look as ridiculous as possible”.
Liam grins and adds, “You only get to do spirit week for a certain period of time… it’s a nice vibe and environment for the freshmen. I want them to see me MC and think ‘that’s going to be me one day’”. Imagine: Liam as a freshman looking out into the crowd of the pep rally and seeing the seniors in their blue yelling at the top of their lungs with a kid leading the fun. Liam is now the kid whom he saw leading the crowd four years earlier. He sighs when he realizes how quickly his four years at Mills have come and gone.
Next comes the preparation for the pep rally. The somewhat empty gymnasium hosts a group of 5 or 6 seniors and juniors playing a game of basketball. These are the members of “class council?” who help prepare the rally. Everything seems calm as the kids prepare their speeches and entrances. Every few minutes songs blare through the speakers testing the quality of the sound. Even principal Mr. Rau joins the students in the pick up game, practicing his basketball shots in the background. It is literally the calm before the roar. Only minutes later, the room explodes with sound as hundreds of students rush into the gymnasium and crowd the bleachers.
As the students file into their designated bleacher seats, the teachers assume their positions leaning against the walls on the side of the gym. The event begins with the spring sports teams running in, some with choreographed displays and others simply sprinting to their seats. Then, the screams escalate once more during the obstacle games which pit grades against one another. Following years of LSM Pep Rally tradition, the seniors win. Of course. One of the most important games of the day is the famous musical chairs. The all-time winner of the game, the esteemed “Mayor of Mills” was, of course, John King. He stands before the crowd, beaming from his win and exemplifying his irrefutable position as “The Heart of the Class of 2024.”
And just like that it is over and everyone either rushes to catch or beat the buses. The crowd jams out of the gymnasium doors like a school of fish. The day is finally over. The last Pep Rally gone as soon as it started. Whether it is in favor or disdain the pep rally unites the school as a whole. We realize that all of our ideals are more or less the same: to have fun and leave school. But the idea of leaving school becomes much more permanent for the seniors. The class dressed in blue will never wear their pep rally gear again. All the blue ribbons and tights will be sent to drawers where they won’t be seen for years, becoming lost in time. Relics of the yells, sweat, and excitement of the Lewis Mills Pep Rally.
A bittersweet blend of emotions follows the seniors as they leave the building. There is joy mixed with melancholy – a feeling that we are leaving an aspect of our lives that we have known since we were kindergarteners entering public school for the first time. We are no longer tethered to school, and certainly this is cause for joy, but no one ever said that separation was easy. And so we move forward, heading toward our next adventures, “boats against the current” …moving with hope, and fear. But forever grateful for these opportunities to exhibit our powerful spirit via the LSM Pep Rallies.
