Look.

I don’t care about this school.

I’m not one of those people who’s going to resent it for years and talk about how high school was the worst place in the world, but I’m also not going to miss it when I leave. I am completely, totally indifferent.

I’ve had some bad times here and I’ve had some good times here and I am pretty sure (or at least I hope) that very few of these times are going to matter to me a year from now. I’ve had good classes and bad classes, met good people and bad people, been happy and sad and frustrated and confused and excited.

I’ve been going to Lovejoy schools since first grade and leaving will not be at all difficult for me. Although I’m sure that on graduation day everyone is going to have all these intense, bittersweet emotions, and I’ll probably feel a little bit of that, but we can just chalk that up to good old Stockholm Syndrome. Because deep down, I don’t care. I’m not using my indifference as a facade to mask my true passion for this decent institution, I just. Don’t. Care.

The point is, I do not want to be forced to have school spirit. I do not understand the point of having school spirit. I totally support the people who have school spirit, but I also totally support my right to lack it. Most school events are loud and confusing and give me headaches and anxiety. I am one of those rare people who would absolutely rather be in class than go to a pep rally.

At a lot of schools, events like that are held after school and are optional and the crowd is usually more responsive because all the people who are there want to be there. I get that this high school is relatively new and we’re trying to form traditions and everything, but I don’t know of many good traditions that are mandatory and enforced by the administration.

I did not enjoy the senior lip dub. I am not going to watch it in 20 years and tear up and sigh wistfully about my great friends and glorious times at Lovejoy High. I say this with the utmost respect, but I don’t personally know half the people in my grade, and I have no desire to. I do actually think yearbooks are a good idea because I don’t just want to forget that high school ever existed, but that’s about all the memorabilia I need. Keep your overpriced class rings and letter jackets and just give me a diploma.

And then there are those days where all the events planned are literally 100 percent useless and the people whose parents make them come to school all band together in their mutual misery and accept the fact that they woke up early for this. Federally mandated fitness tests? Okay, I can see how that’s necessary (Note: “federally mandated.”) However, a presentation about suicide- don’t get me wrong, suicide is a very serious issue and awareness is important and all, but I will be stunned if I learn something that I haven’t already read on Internet or my been told by my therapist.  As far as some lectures about nutrition and fitness (I don’t know if anybody remembered, but we were all required to take Health) and “senior reminders” that could probably be found in an e-mail or handout we’ve already received (note: “reminders”) are not an acceptable reason for me to get out of bed in the morning.

I have passed all my classes (coincidentally, 14 of those are outside of the requirements for Texas curriculum) and I don’t think it’s so important that I go to Six Flags and eat brunch with the entire senior class that I will get in trouble with the administration if I don’t. I technically passed high school like 2 years ago, so I’m really doing the school a favor at this point.

Couldn’t they do me a favor back and exempt me from pep rallies?