Spirit week was awesome.

Sophomore bench building: at my house. Oh, the joy. I love writing essays to the sounds of hammers wackin’ and sophomores laughin’.

They sure put a lot of effort into their bench building. In fact, they worked so hard that I sometimes experienced the impulse to pick up a paintbrush and start working alongside them.

But that would be treason. So I did not.

Let me confess, though. I am a senior, and I did not attend one day of bench building. I am a little bit ashamed, because I consider bench building to be a great social experience and definitely productive and educational and all of that. Really.

It is difficult when your mother constantly calls bench building “trash making,” and your sophomore sister claims to be “much too busy” to take 10 steps out of the front door to help her friends with the building.

But I guess I did participate in bench building, in a way. After all, it happened almost every day on my driveway. Not all of my family is anti-spirited.
We were there with a whole box of band-aids when a girl cut herself with a saw. That’s what they asked for, and that’s what they got. We would totally have called 9-1-1 if they needed it, though. I hope the band-aids were sufficient.

And I was there to provide moral support.

“Hey guys. Looking good,” I told them. I always gave them a big smile when passing.

So I think spirit doesn’t really have to be “built.” I certainly didn’t help “build” it during spirit week, but I think I speak for many regretful souls when I say that spirit is also embodied in things such as club activity, casting a vote for your school, respecting your teachers, and loving your fellow Vikings for who they are, regardless of class.

I think I’ve got spirit. How ‘bout you?

And hey, scooter kid. If you’re reading this now, your mode of transportation with the orange handles is still parked in my driveway. Come get it.