The senior walk is an organized transition where the graduating class walks through the school’s main hallways one final time while the remainder of the younger students line the sides. It serves as a symbolic reminder of a long journey that is soon to end, and that everyone graduating deserves a little recognition. For the seniors, the walk is mostly about sentimentality and the finality of the experience. As we move through the building, the environment feels different and nostalgic. Families are allowed to crowd around and take photos. The first school is the elementary school of your choice, which you take a bus to. At Bates, students had the privilege to go to the gym and play the rainbow parachute game for one last time. After that, we go to the middle school, and for a split second, students can see their old teachers. The staff provided us with things like popcorn, Kona ice, and corn hole. I think the senior walk is a staple that every graduating senior should be able to go through because it shows all the stages of life.
After the walk, all of the seniors gather around the football field for a group photo on a drone. The idea was for everyone to form a W for Woodhaven on the field, and the drone flew overhead as we all waved while looking up. It was an interesting idea, and hopefully they continue to do that in the future years. My experience personally was bittersweet. I enjoyed seeing my old teachers who have transferred to different schools to teach. A lot of them didn’t recognize me, but it was still good to see them for one last time. My biggest lesson I’ve learned in high school is to genuinely never take any day for granted, and that it is okay to be alone. Do not spend your high school years dwelling on what could have been, and live in the present. Make new friends and keep your old ones close, because those are the ones who will be in your life forever.
