Spirit Week

Meme Monday, Twin Tuesday, Wacky Wednesday–you know the drill. Every year, the high school participates in Spirit Week, an annual event that allows students to dress up according to a different theme each day of the week. The best and most appropriate outfits are usually featured on the student council's official Instagram page, but otherwise, there isn’t much of a prize. In years past, Spirit Week has always been a highlight of the year: a week where you can wear pajamas to school without risking being ‘a winner’; a week where you can finally pull out the five pieces of clothing that you’d never touch if there weren’t a legitimate excuse (such as a designated day where you’re told to wear the weirdest, ugliest combinations possible). But in recent years, you’ll start to see students opting to wear uniform instead of dressing up, or simply showing up in plain free dress. You’ll start spotting a sea of mundane black t-shirts and sweatpants for Monochrome Monday, and people who put in only as much effort as to wear different colored socks for Wacky Wednesday. Many, including me, are left wondering why people have less motivation to dress up than before. Is it because the themes are too intricate and require too much thought? Is it because we’re all too stressed out to care? Or is spirit just diminishing? In hopes of gaining some insight into the changes and transitions that the Concordia student body has witnessed, I spoke with Irrey, one of our beloved high school secretaries.

Having been here for longer than most of us have been alive, when asked how long she’s been at Concordia, Irrey jokingly sighed, “Long enough.”

Reflecting on Spirit Week in previous years, she recalls, “It was always so much fun. Everybody was involved. We cheered up, we dressed up, all according to the theme on the specific day. Majority of the community, no matter where they were from and how old they were, participated in this event. It was always a really fun week.”

However, when thinking of Spirit Week now, she said, “I’m happy that they’re still doing it, but the culture has changed. I mean, I’m not judging it, but it used to be more fun.”

Although a bit disappointed, Irrey shares that she can’t seem to figure out why there’s been a difference: “I really don’t know [why]. Maybe it’s because the demographic of the student body is changing, and the cultures are different, so we’re doing things differently.”

Though the overall effort to take full advantage of the ‘wackiness’ of Spirit Week has dwindled, there are many who still show up to school dazzled, glammed up, and looking like human embodiments of the daily theme. Along with having spirit at Phoenix Fridays, and class spirit during Olympic Week, it’s important for us to show school spirit during division-wide events such as Spirit Week. Although seemingly arbitrary, it's events like these that bring us closer as a community and allow us to take a break from the perpetual pressures and workload of school. Let’s take a look at some of the best outfits featured in Spirit Week 2021!