By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

RESERVE – The senior graduating class at Reserve Christian School (RCS) is pretty indicative of what many high school teens are feeling these days.

With graduation ceremonies going on throughout the region, the RCS seniors find themselves like so many others who have mixed feelings about what is about to happen in their lives.

And like so many other senior classes, they got to experience one last big event together with their recent senior trip to Washington D.C., where they toured the historic sites of the area.

&#8220I’ve been going to school here for all my years of school,” Lauren Michel said. &#8220So part of me is nervous to graduate, but the other part of me is excited about going to college.”

From the smaller school that Reserve Christian is, there is a graduating class of 13 seniors this year, so the trip to Washington D.C. was more intimate than most senior trips.

&#8220Since we have a small group of seniors here, our senior trip was such a great chance to get to know the people we have been going to school with a lot better,” Rebecca Simon said.

&#8220With graduation coming up, I thought I’d be all upset and crying, but I am mostly excited to experience what is coming up in my life. I feel like I am maturing, and have a whole new chapter of my life about to start,” she added.

Seth Nicholas, who plans to go to Nicholls State and study pre-med, said he is looking forward to moving into the next stage of his education.

&#8220I came here to learn, and now I get to move to another level in the science and math I like so much,” he said. &#8220I feel like I’m ready to achieve what I’ve been dreaming about for so long.”

The trip to Washington D.C. was memorable for all the seniors due to the many historic places they got to go, however the Holocaust Museum seemed to impact most of them in a great way.

&#8220Seeing everything in the Holocaust Museum just made me want to cry,” Kristy Crews said. &#8220It broke my heart to see what happened, and the way they put the museum together, you could feel the pain those people must have gone through.”

Michel agreed, noting &#8220the museum made history come alive for us. And even in the other memorials and places we went, you had such a feeling of history since you knew this was where all these former presidents had walked.”

Britt McClure, who will be attending Southeastern Louisiana University to study computer science, said that everyone should visit Washington.

&#8220You get to see our nation’s history and it was so amazing,” he said. &#8220But I suppose the most fun we actually had was getting lost for an hour on a taxi ride in the city.”

The seniors at RCS led the final day of chapel at the school this past week, adding words of wisdom to the underclassmen about to move up.

And for many, it was a reminder to appreciate the years of high school, and especially the teachers and educators who are trying so much to help the teens get ready for the next chapter of their life after high school.