Spirit Week 2010: Leading with Honor

by Alyssa Chua and Ikka Adriano

  Messiah College’s Spirit Week has been a great opportunity for the school to give the Freshmen a warm “kick-off” at establishing meaningful friendships with the other batches. It has also been a good time for the upper-classmen to bond with the newer students, as well as a time for all the students to get their mind off paperwork, relax, and enjoy the fun and games.

  ”The uniqueness and excitement of this Spirit Week was really fun! It evolved from one-day activity to a two-week event full of a lot of different activities, games, and surprises!”
 –Luis Pelea (Junior)

  Games in Messiah College’s Spirit Week include tagging members from other teams, eating contests, fear factor tests, chess, and riddle races, among many other fun and challenging activities. Students learn to strategize, plan, and focus their attention on their assigned tasks in each team.

  “One of the things I’ve learned in war games is that you cannot do what you have to do if you are preoccupied, actually paranoid, that someone might tag you. Focus on what you have to do.”
-Paula Lopez (Freshman)

  Nevertheless, the family atmosphere of Messiah College remains. In spite of the competition, the friendliness and closeness between the students continue to develop. Students learn what it means to lead with honor by playing the games with honor and treating each other with honor even if they are in opposing teams. They learn to embody a Christ-like attitude even in fun and games, as well as to develop trust, accountability, unity, and faith with their teammates.

  As Messiah College’s Spirit Week draws to a close, the challenges continue, as do the fun and the games. When it’s over and the halls become quiet once more, as students’ exclamations of having been tagged will no longer be heard, this 2-week experience will be something each student is least likely to forget. As the excitement dies down and students go back to their regular routines, the Messiah College Spirit Week will remain fresh in their minds, as a time of bonding, fun, games, and challenges, as well as a time of learning the important lesson on leading with honor.