Imagine that you are a freshman that has just completed their first semester at RV. 18 weeks at school was a breeze and things are starting to make sense, but you still feel lost when students in higher grades talk about RV activities. However, one does stick out to you. Senior trip… some of your senior classmates mysteriously leave school for a week, and when they get back, it feels like they graduate the next week. Fast forward to sophomore year, where Mrs. Rosenthal gathers the entire senior class to discuss a school-sponsored trip to Disney World for a week. Spirits are high and you can’t wait to spend a week away from school with your friends. Then, right after the meeting ends, Mr. Martin says to empty out your locker and get ready for the first COVID-19 lockdown. That was two years ago. 

That was the story for many of the students that are going on senior trip very soon. Back then, senior trip felt like ages away, but somehow it has arrived, marking the beginning of the end for seniors at RV. Senior Dayton Tenn voiced his opinion on it. “I am excited but I’m worried about the food situation. My plan is to ride the Jimmy Fallon ride all week.” Although the resort has food vendors all over, many students are resorting to packing copious amounts of snacks and breakfast items to save a little money. Disney is a big money grabber.

Even though planning for the Class of 2022’s senior trip has been years in the making, some students have just decided that they want to attend. Griffin Gaughan was one of those seniors. “Basically I saw how almost all my friends were going and I thought it would be a good chance to make some long lasting memories with them.” As mentioned earlier, senior trip is one of the biggest moments for many students in RV. The environment is set up just right so that you can spend time and goof off with all of your friends without pressure from school and other activities. The memories shared about senior trip from alumni are phenomenal.

However, since it is not a requirement, some seniors have decided to skip senior trip entirely. Senior Danika Parsons stated that, “I’m not going because I didn’t want to spend that much money and it’s not like all my friends are going so it didn’t really seem worth it”. Many of the underclassmen may not know of the high price that the senior trip costs. And if none of your friends are going you may not have the best time. Another senior, Andrew Bunting, added, “Truthfully, I didn’t want to go on a vacation with teachers”. Although teachers and faculty are not watching you all day, you do have to follow a strict set of rules set and enforced by the school staff that can be tedious sometimes. With approximately 70-80 percent of the senior class going on the trip, that leaves many reasons why students won’t attend the trip to Disney. 

Seniors plan to be at the school on March 8th approximately at 3:00 am for the first flight. They will arrive back that Saturday, March 12th late at night. The school hallways will feel a little bit more hollow as the school loses a quarter of its population within a matter of hours. Seniors plan to make long lasting memories and get away from the stress of their last year of high school ending. This is the beginning of the end of the Class of 2022.