I did something on Friday I have never done before. I attended a public school’s homecoming day pep rally.

I went to Tabernacle Christian School, and when you have a total of 18 people in your graduating class you tend to do things on a much smaller scale than these huge public schools do.

You can imagine my surprise as I drove up to the Gardendale High School gym. There were cars everywhere with parents, and what looked like grandparents, going to watch this pep rally. I was only going to take some pictures for the newspaper, but I got much more than a few shots with the camera. I got a full experience. 

Who knew that there could be that much excitement contained in the four walls of a gym.

As they were about to start there was music playing over a speaker system and then the senior class made a grand entrance. They rushed the stands from two different sides of the gym and met in the middle with an overflow of enthusiasm and excitement that seemed to flowed through the entire gymnasium.

It was as if every class was rooting on this senior class with every fiber of their being. The crowd was roaring with excitement and it didn’t settle any time soon.

After the seniors took their seats the homecoming court was called onto the floor and these girls with gorgeous, flowing dresses and these guys in suits and tuxedos came walking through the sea of maroon and grey with their heads held high. 

I guess that is one way to get the full wear out of your homecoming outfit. I couldn’t imagine being in my homecoming gown with makeup and hair done by 9 a.m. but these girls were pulling it off flawlessly.

They announced the homecoming king at the pep rally and a handsome young man was crowned as the crowd went wild in favor of the decision.

After this, the drumline was called down to the floor. They had everyone’s hearts pounding as you could feel every beat of their drums in your belly and down to your feet. I’ve always loved the drum line and feel like they are a huge part of the heart of high school football. 

The drumline did a few formations on the floor while keeping a great beat. The cheerleaders were dancing and the students were loving every minute of it. 

I want to remind you again that I come from a Christian school background. As I looked around that room I tried to imagine a few of those kids showing up at my school the way they looked today.

You see, when I was in school (Wow, I sound really old right now.) girls had to wear dresses that came down to their knees and boys had to wear collared shirts. Boy’s hair couldn’t touch the top of their ears or their collars and they had to be clean shaved every day.

Girls couldn’t wear open toe shoes and no “unnatural” hair color was allowed.

Bam… I busted up in that gym and was met with a guy sporting a nose ring, gages in his ears and flip flops on his feet. A girl had purple hair (not colored for the pep rally, that dye was permanent looking) shorts and a tattoo. I felt like I?had entered an alternate universe. But you know what, every one of those kids looked like they were having the time of their lives. They had smiles on their faces; they were all well behaved and structured. I was really impressed with the actions of these kids. I suppose it doesn’t really matter what they wear, as long as their actions are in line and their attitudes follow that line.

I completely understand why these parents made it a point to attend this pep rally. I love to see my babies happy and they feel the same way about their high school babies. Hopefully I will be able to attend a few Gardendale High School pep rallies as a proud parent just like the ones I?walked in with today.

All-in-all it was a very pleasant experience. I only hate that I?had to leave before seeing the principal bust out his dance moves for the “Whip and Nae Nae.” Maybe next time I’ll get to stay for all of the fun festivities.