Whether it’s grabbing a quick meal at Chipotle for lunch, hanging out with friends, or going home to get a break from school, open lunch has opened a realm of possibilities for seniors. Along with all of the other excitement going on, the first day of school marks the first time seniors are officially allowed to leave the school building for the duration of the lunch period.

  Yet, for most, their first experience with this new adjustment was a little bit chaotic.

  “It was a little hectic because everyone’s trying to get out at the same exact time,” senior Ava Losardo said. “But it always works out.”

  Senior Camila Hernandez also encountered this problem on the first day. In order to avoid the flow of students, she decided to wait a few minutes after the bell each day before leaving.

  However, this poses problems of its own when taking into account the very limited amount of time that is allotted for lunch. Both seniors agreed that it was tricky to figure out the amount of time needed to drive to the place, eat and make it back to class on time.

  Despite all of this, open lunch was something most seniors looked forward to in the time leading up to their final year of high school.

  “When I finished my junior year all we talked about was what restaurants we would want to go to… because we have a lot of options,” Hernandez said.

  Though limited, the forty-six minute period allows students to get a much-needed break from the school day and socialize with their friends.

  “Going out with your friends and just spending time by yourself with them is a really nice way to bond with them…instead of having a lot of distractions in schools,” Hernandez said.

  For the majority of seniors, they can agree that open lunch, if not better, was as good as they had expected.

  At the same time, however, Hernandez recognized that her initial thoughts of leaving during lunch were a little different from her reality with it now.

  “When I was younger, I was like, ‘oh I get to go out everyday with my friends’, and it’s not exactly like that,” Hernandez said.

  When she doesn’t want to spend too much money, she has the ability to go home for lunch instead. She mentioned how some people don’t have that access since they live farther away, so for them, their only other option is to continue to eat in the cafeteria.

  “A lot of people go to restaurants every day and we have to think about the fact that we can’t be spending money every day,” Hernandez said.

  So for her, the best way to spend time with all of her friends without worrying about eating out all the time is to stay in school during lunch – at least for now.