Close your books, toss the tassels, pack your bags, hit the open road and leave high school and all of its attachments sitting in the rearview mirror.
School is just about over for the class of 2010 as graduation approaches and summer begins to enter our sight. Every lesson, every teacher and every friend we've made and friend we've lost over the numerous days we've tread in the halls of school is about to change.
Seniors become antsy to finish up schoolwork and anticipate their plans for college, their careers and their love lives. But before they split with all their friends and head their separate ways, they have one last hoorah -- a senior trip.
Many Top of Utah teens agree that a senior trip -- near or far -- is the best way to spend time with your friends before the road forks and the friendships fade.
"I think those who aren't going are missing out on spending time with all their best friends from high school," says Ryan Miller, a senior at Roy High.
Brodie Poll, a Northridge High senior, said, "It is going to be the last time I see some of my friends and I want to spend all the time I have left with them before we split ways and go onto college."
Time to party
John Merrill is headed to Laughlin, Nev.
"I'm definitely going on a senior trip because I think it will be fun to go on a trip with friends and be able to just relax," the Syracuse High senior says. He added, "I also got to get some good memories in before I dive into the real world."
Clearfield High senior Jenny Rasmussen says, "Of course I will go on a senior trip. Spending 12 years of my life in schooling and with a diploma in my hand, you need to celebrate."
"It's a great way to celebrate graduating," adds senior Parker DeYoung of Ogden High. "You put lots of hard work into school and it's a nice reward for getting it all done."
However, not all students are mapping out senior trips.
"Probably not because I'm saving my money for college and may not be able to afford a big trip," says Makayla Bottoms, a junior at Clearfield High. "I might get away somewhere close by with some friends, but nothing fancy."
Dreamy destinations
So where will seniors go to kick back and relax?
Kaitlan Boman, senior at Bonneville High, said she's headed somewhere warm so she can escape the cold. She adds, "Go somewhere where you can enjoy yourself to the fullest."
"I'm going to Washington D.C. I've always wanted to go there because of the history and such," adds Fremont High senior Matt Harper.
Rasmussen says she will most likely do a couple of small trips to St. George, Bear Lake or camping.
At Roy High, senior Brittany Anderson says, "I'm going to Island Park. But if I could go anywhere, I'd want to go to a place like Hawaii or Cancun because it's warm and there are beaches."
"I'm going to Moab with my friends because biking Moab is one of the many steps to becoming a man, and it's my chance to just chill before I take a crack at the real world," says Blake Pratt, a Roy High senior.
Angelina Lujan, a senior at Ben Lomond High, is off to the Bahamas "because it's the perfect getaway!"
And Regan Summers, a Clearfield senior, says she'll most likely end up at her grandparents' cabin: "It's one of my favorite places to go in the summer. I think it would be fun to take a bunch of my friends."
Practical planning
It's important to make your senior trip a memory that will last forever but, at the same time, it's also important to maintain a budget and keep in mind how reasonable a trip may be.
"Make your trip so you will have fun because this only happens once in a lifetime," said Madyson Shaw, a senior at Layton High.
Ogden High senior Kelsie Lawrence says, "You can make anything fun when you're with your friends. Just keep the cost reasonable and pick a place that is fun but not overly expensive."
Tanner Webb, a Davis High senior, says, "Choose a place you will enjoy and have a good time at but that won't be out of your price range and take away from higher priorities."
Miranda Jones, another senior from Davis, adds, "Plan ahead and go somewhere that interests you. Stay within your budget. Plan before but go with the flow once you get there and go crazy. After all, it is your senior trip."
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Julia Saxton is a senior at Roy High School. She loves to dance, shop and socialize. E-mail her at tiny_dancer73@hotmail.com.
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