Seniors Say Farewell to Their Last FDOC
Seniors experienced their last first day of class this past week as second semester commenced. The first day of the last semester comes with plenty of mixed feelings and emotions. Posing for pictures with our siblings on the first day while waiting for the bus is a tradition for many starting pre-school. So to finally reach the last first day seems like the end of an era. It forces students to look back and reflect on all the first days they have experienced before and prepare for the new adventure that awaits in a few fleeting months.
For senior student Dina Henderson, the last first day of class was emotional. “I didn’t necessarily feel any different that morning when I woke up to go to class. It felt like any other day,” Henderson said. “But after class, I went to lunch with my roommate, and as we were driving home, Search Party by Sam Bruno and JayKobe came on, and I immediately started crying. Hearing the song which has sort of been an anthem for us the past four years and it being my last first day of school just hit me all at once.”
Henderson said hearing one of her favorite songs made her consider the significance of her last first day.
“I realized I would never be taking my first day of class picture and sending it to my family and I would never be living on the same street as my best friends,” Henderson said. “It was a really bittersweet moment because no other first day had ever felt like this because I always knew I’d have another first day until now.”
Maeve Sullivan is also a senior, and she felt sentimental on her last first day. “It made me really nostalgic about my freshman year first day and brought back a lot of memories,” Sullivan said. “It hit me in that moment that after this semester I’d never be here taking notes in class again.”
Senior student Bridget Turner found her last first day symbolic as well. “I walked to class that day, and it was nice out and felt like a change of pace for me since I normally drive now that I live off campus,” Turner said. “Most of my classes are in Schar, but I was in the Pavilions that day, so I walked through campus, and seeing so many people made me feel more connected to Elon as a whole than ever before.”
While the last first day produces plenty of intense emotions, it’s also a day to be celebrated. It marks the end of a chapter but also serves as an introduction to everything new that lies ahead. Spring semester for seniors is a time to enjoy everything they have worked hard for and get excited about the future.
Ari Levine wholeheartedly agrees with that notion, saying, “The last first day for me was celebratory because it’s okay that there’s a beginning and an end.”