Bittersweetness and Barstool

Throughout all my years of school, I personally have never been more stressed out in my life. Granted, that may be caused by extensive procrastination. However, that’s beside the point. It may be that “senior-itis” is setting in. It also may be pure laziness. But I think it’s more the fact that I can’t be loud and obnoxious at sporting events anymore. 
Everyone is stressed out at school; it’s a huge part of high school. However, another traditional part of high school is being able to take out your stress and frustration on Friday and Saturday nights through athletics. Student sections are one of the best ways to show support for your school’s athletic teams, and often they can cause shifts of momentum that can change the dynamics of a contest. Granted, there is a line that needs to be drawn regarding what can and can’t be said or, better yet, what should and shouldn’t be said. For me, personally, I think that there’s a significant difference between making distracting noises and playful banter and calling out individual players for their personality, assumed sexuality and even their skin color.
While all of this drama in high school sports is overrated, it turns out that it’s just that — high school drama. And, as a senior who is about to graduate in less than four months, I realize that, in no time, I will be seriously missing these overly dramatic scenarios. 
Senior year of high school is one of the most bittersweet times in our lives. We are so excited to turn the page and see what the new chapter of our life has to offer, while at the same time we are trying to preserve any sliver of high school that we have left. 
One aspect of high school that kids often miss when they move on to their postsecondary education is the freedom to wreak some havoc with little to no consequences. I’m not talking about making bad decisions and being able to do whatever you want, by any means. It’s more about the fact that athletics and student sections in particular give students the ability to be relatively rude to other teams, while doing it for the benefit of their own team. This in and of itself is bittersweet, especially because the seniors this year reminisce about times when student sections were severely less regulated. This just brings up questions about the significance of the Wyoming High School Activities Association’s noisemaker rule.
High-schoolers are also kids, and I think most people forget that. If you set a rule, chances are they will find a way around it. Barstool is a perfect example of this. Barstool, for those of you who don’t know, is a form of social media account that is used to “poke fun” at other teams throughout the state. It’s the athletes’ way of “talking crap” in a fun manner, because they no longer are allowed to partake in that activity in their schools’ student sections. 
However, it seems as though Douglas is still allowed to do both, which is beyond me. In hindsight, it does seem to be all in good fun and, per usual, adults tend to take it the wrong way out of caring for their kids.
High school comes with all sorts of challenges and situations. Kids try to make the most out of one of the most stress-filled times of their lives. There are times when kids make mistakes, but high school is all one big learning experience. Bittersweetness is unavoidable and Barstool is something that could be turned into something good, from something that currently isn’t so good, if given the opportunity.