Senior Trends

Emily Houde

**Disclaimer: This article is written from an unbiased perspective and covers different points of view from different people**

Senior year is in full swing, and so are the trends. With these trends come controversies. This year, the class of 2026 is participating in a lot of these trends. Some seniors truly enjoy them, while others find them unnecessary. Below are the pros and cons of the trends seniors are doing or planning to do this school year. 

• Senior Jeans

  • Description: Seniors paint jeans with a Senior/2026 theme. 

  • Pros: Bonding activity, makes a good photo prop

  • Cons: May get expensive (depending on the jeans), people can't really wear them after this year

• Senior Backpacks

  • Description: Seniors use little kids’ backpacks for the school year to reminisce on the past. 

  • Pros: Fun, allows people to reminisce on childhood

  • Cons: Can’t hold very much, something that can really only be used this year

• Senior Sunrise

  • Description: Seniors meet on Hampton Beach one day early in the year before school to watch the sunrise together. This commemorates the start of the final year of high school. 

  • Pros: Bonding, very pretty, symbolic, a good excuse to go to the beach, not too cold

  • Cons: Early, still have to go to school later, far(ish) away

• Senior Sunrise #2

  • Description: Same as above, but done in the middle of the year. 

  • Pros: Bonding, still very pretty

  • Cons: Less symbolic, early, cold

• Car decorating (early year)

  • Description: Seniors decorate their cars with senior-themed phrases. 

  • Pros: Makes the car look pretty, lets people know you’re a senior

  • Cons: Lots of effort for something that will just get washed away, typically done at the end of the year, drawings may be a distraction while driving

• Car decorating (late in year)

  • Description: Same style of decoration as above, but normally done by parents. Because it is later in the year, it typically has something to do with what the person is doing the next year. 

  • Pros: Less work for the student, more symbolic as people know what they are doing next year

  • Cons: Drawings may get annoying while driving

• Painting parking spots

  • Description: Seniors paint parking spots, which end up being their parking spots for the year

  • Pros: Fun activity, people get to reserve a spot

  • Cons: Paint can be expensive, the reserved spots can cause drama

Overall, senior year is filled with lots of traditions. All of them come with pros and cons, and it is up to a person if they want to participate or not. 

Congrats class of 2026 on making it this far!