Update

So I haven't updated in a while. School's a drag as usual, and I am falling into the habit of procrastinating which is frustrating. But the first semester is coming to a close soon. I am not sure if it's right that I am looking forward to the end of this schoolyear. As cliche as it is, me as a high school student will be gone soon, never to return, so I should enjoy this. Sadly I have very few special memories of my life as Oxford student. I've been able to meet some great people through Oxford but that satisfaction from forming a bond with nature or spending time with friends has been rare.

Meanwhile after the recent school rally, I wanted to address this issue that our class lacks class spirit. It seems that some people in our class are upset because we never win those fictitious spirit points and because we never cheer as loudly as other classes. To be honest, I think our class cheer rocked at the last rally. You can never go wrong by handing the mic off to Minh.

I think school rallies provide some of the much needed change from monotonous Oxford schedule but time could be better spent. I've never completely understood the purpose of class cheers. In fact, they symbolize everything that is wrong with society. Volume outweighs substance; the louder you shout out the nonsensical phrases, the better. Whenever I find myself surrounded by the yelling masses in the gym, I am reminded of the immense power wielded by an unthinking mob. Chants, loud chants, lull participants into groupthink. The winner of the best cheer is decided arbitrarily by judges with vested interest. The competitiveness of the game also leaves losers with a bitter aftertaste.

Despite my self-consciousness, though, I do try to take part in the rally as much as possible. That's because our class committee is really committed to this thing and works hard every time to try to make up a good cheer for us. It would be disrespectful to not participate. Still, I think we should come up with some laid-back, out-of-the-box class cheer that pokes fun at the whole event.


My birthday is coming up soon, and 18's a pretty significant number so I'm trying to think of ways to celebrate. Any ideas?

- EDIT -

I realized that I let my nonsensical, overblown (Seth would say liberal and anarchistic) comparisons of school rallies to sociological dysfunction distracted me from my main argument. I don't disapprove school rallies because the shouting involved poses some symbolic threat to our well-being. I simply don't feel inspired enough by the substance of a school rally to shout. To me, cheers and little mini-games don't do class competitions justice. They are not worth bickering about with people in other classes.