Opinion By Maddie Naeve

Being a high school student means letting go and having fun with your classmates. This could mean going all out for dress up days, supporting the student athletes at a game, or attending school dances in order to have the best time you can while being stuck in high school.

I want to be able to look back on my time at Mount Vernon High School and be happy that I went out of my comfort zone to experience new things. I am sure that when I am old and gray looking back on my time as a teenager, I’ll never be proud that I boycotted dress up days during homecoming week instead of going all out and risking making a fool of myself. Being a teenager means exploring new sides of one’s personality. In doing so, being a little out of the ordinary is expected.

Taking part in school activities opens up new relationships with unexpected people. At winter formal someone new may have asked to dance with you, but when few attend said events that is less likely to happen. The more people that can be crammed between our school walls during school events increases the energy amongst students.

Being a junior I know my time as a high school student is coming to a bittersweet end, and I am happy with almost everything I have taken part in so far. Except during a period of time when I completely dodged any school event. As a result, I could not bond as well with my classmates, but once I took a step outside my comfort zone, taking part extracurriculars or making an appearance at football games, my friendships became stronger.

Dances run by student council dances have not had the expected attendance. This year they threw a winter formal, and finally got the outcome they desired. The dance started out slow, but as it got later and more people arrived the more entertaining the dance was. This just proves that the more attendance the merrier.