GANNON RUSHALL

I want to tell you about my friend Riley Barry. He is a junior at Mountain Vista, he plays the tuba and lacrosse, and loves to dress up. But he doesn’t dress up with nice clothes and all, no. He dresses up on every spirit day and has not missed a single day throughout high school.

Barry’s unique style for spirit also carries over into his everyday clothes. From head to toe; colorful converse or Nike shoes, long socks with crazy detail, lacrosse shorts with all kinds of unique designs, shirts supporting band, lacrosse, or just Vista in general, his old style Mickey Mouse backpack, a morphsuit underneath and for the cherry on top, a cool hat.

Nothing tells you more about Riley than school spirit; he even has a cape with the Vista logo on it. “[School spirit] gives me a chance to show my appreciation for my education at Mountain Vista, and it’s a way for me to express myself in front of everybody,” said Barry. Riley’s goal is to carry a positive message to the Vista community and tell everyone that it’s okay to express yourself.

Riley and I before the football playoff game vs. Valor, Fall 2014

College Wear Wednesday

Wish Week (Photo Credits to Austin Sack)

(Photo Credits to Catherine Richman)

Although his message is supposed to be positive, some people perceive his style in a negative way. “Honestly, I walk around the halls during spirit days and I can hear everybody criticizing me…I do feel kind of embarrassed sometimes but there is a greater cause,” said Barry.

School spirit should be cherished and embraced. You only have one chance to be a high school student, and only a few times can you express yourself in the most creative ways. Before you know it, there will be no more spirit days and no more times when your school community can come together and be one big family. “It’s [about] doing something above yourself and not trying to be cooler than everybody and just go all out because you only have one chance at high school,” said Barry.