“Why does [insert school organization here] get to miss all day?”

“When does being a varsity [insert sport here] get you special privileges?”

“It’s just not fair.”

These sentiments, along with many more, are often heard around campus. Remarks of jealousy among students have become a common occurrence, an outcry against apparent unfairness. As a student body, it is vital students release the social stigma which comes with being involved in different activities and replace it with positive appreciation.

Special perks are bound to be given to certain organizations for a good reason. These benefits lend themselves to their activity. For instance, some sports leave school early, and rightfully so, as they must travel for the ability to play. It makes sense they get out of a few class periods. Envy is unjustified when logic prevails. Students who are not involved in school-sponsored activities can sometimes be excluded from these perks, but only because, in a way, they have excluded themselves.

Students can join plenty of extracurriculars and clubs if willing to participate. However, some students are also bound by responsibilities unrelated to school, such as taking care of siblings, volunteering or holding down a job, which is as admirable a cause as any sport. As with anything, the situation is simply a give and take.

Besides that, students, as with most people, are generally well-rounded and have many interests spanning throughout and beyond school. No one person is going to be the same, so therein no person or group should be discriminated against. Each person is talented in different ways and should be admired as such. It takes work to be good at something, no matter the subject or sport. If students are successful, whether it be art, music, sports or otherwise, it means behind the scenes they have put time and effort into their passions. Being good at something should not summon judgment; it should be celebrated.

More than anything, people must keep in mind each student is so much more than the sport they play or the grade they make. They are people with passions, likes and dislikes, full of love and loss, stories to tell that are uniquely their own. They have morals and hopes. What so many people forget about school is it’s not always about being the better than peers but being satisfied with the pursuit of your own dreams.

Rather than holding people’s hobbies against them, students should be more supportive of each other. After all, they all depend on each other to succeed. The band provides amazing music at football games. Cheerleaders flip and jump at countless sports. In return, our athletes inspire school spirit day in and day out. That spirit is carried on by UIL academics and FFA, who represent Canyon at numerous meets. And to tie it all together one more time, this publication writes about it all. No one could stand on their own, at least not very well.

Students are capable of a goal like this, simple yet unattained. All that needs to happen is a general consensus to give up resentment, and come to the realization everyone is working through high school together. So the next time someone succeeds at their passion in any area of life, aspire to appreciate. Thumbs up, high fives and words of congratulation are all accepted. A smile works, too. At the very least, nod and say “to each his own.”