Family.

In the country of Norway, sports teams are not held through the school system, only through clubs. Now granted, schooling in Norway is free of charge through college, but not having activities run by the school takes the, as one may say, "nationality" of a school away.

In my opinion, the extra curricular activities are what makes students have pride in their school. Of course, academics come first, and it is always nice to know that you are getting a great education, even without an outdated banner to prove it. Cougar Nation, would not be a nation without the sports it cheers on. The foot ball team refer to themselves as a "family", and while some people make fun of them for it, I fully support the idea behind it, and it must be working for them, we are 6-0. No matter what sport you are in, knowing that you have your own personal fan club of peers behind you makes people better people in my opinion. Everyone has their own interest, whether it is a specific sport or show choir, and as a school, we should be supportive of each other in every aspect, regardless if you have the same passion. I believe that Kennedy High School has many families, which, in turn, creates a larger one that we are all apart of. Many of us will not go on to do the things we feel so passionately about now, after college, and our time is running out to do the things we love. While in high school, some of the fondest memories I feel as if most will remember, are the ones where they are cheering their school on. Having the biggest student section at football games, standing ovations at plays, making it all they way to the well in basketball, having a show choir ballad bring you to tears. These are just some examples. When speaking about any sport, whether I am or am not involved, I use possessive articles when referring to Kennedy "We are 6-0." "Our swimming team won last night." So even if you are not involved in any extra activities at Kennedy, (even though I would strongly recommend it, there is so many things to choose from) do not be afraid to support the people who are involved. They are not just playing for themselves, they are playing for the school, for us, our family. It bewilders me to see people making fun of that. All we want to do as high school students is to be a part of something, to feel included. It does not always have to be exclusive. Those are the ones who make me just start laughing because they are the ones who are missing out.