The most anticipated week at OLLA is here. With heightened school spirit, fun-filled activities, and a competitive Friday awaiting us, we can’t wait. But amidst these spirit-point opportunities, we can’t look past one of the most important parts this week alone fosters: sisterhood. 

Rooted in the goal of allowing us to come together through means of healthy competition, Spirit Week offers all four grades the space to showcase their individual spirit with countless opportunities to tally enough points for the coveted school-spirit trophy gifted at the school year’s end.

It’s easy to forget the importance of togetherness when the adrenaline rush kicks in and all you want is the satisfaction of winning. And hey, we get it! We’ve been there too. 

But as you realize, these four years will soon become a small piece of many memories to come after you turn your graduation cap’s tassel from right to left and receive your diploma.

Terrifying, I know. And as teenagers, we tend to forget to live in the moment, especially when we’re in those moments, we’d like to think, will come back. 

Spirit Week will be over the moment you put your tutus, beads, and class shirts right back into your closet, becoming a simple part of memories you’ll cherish forever. This cycle occurs every year, with each Google Form you receive asking you for details about your class shirt, until you realize that you won’t be bombarded with emails the following year. 

This week, we invite you to not let this become one of the many memories you have stuffed into that brain-drawer you’ve placed all your OLLA memories in.  But to really dive-in and make it memorable.

So, spread the sisterhood. You have the power to change a contest based on solely competition into one rooted in love and gratitude. So step up and do it. 

Cherish every single moment you spend with your fellow sisters. Take those pictures, capturing every laugh, smile, and activity you take part in. Scream, not only to cheer for your classmates competing, but for each other. Hug your friends a little tighter. Go all out with your dress-ups. And most of all, in the midst of all the chaos and excitement, take one extra look around the room at all of the joy, love, and smiles of your 800+ sisters and hold it close to your heart.

We hope that as we fill the rest of this week with daily Spirit Week coverage, we see you manifest that famous OLLA sisterhood into a reality that’ll last a lifetime.