As the seniors walk through familiar halls and dodge scurrying underclassmen, they smile, savoring the moment they will never experience again. The journey they began a short three years ago is nearing its end as they enter their last year of high school.

Students returned to school Aug. 22, freshmen walking into Canyon High School for the first time, seniors celebrating their last first day. Students’ reaction to the back-to-school routine varied, but senior Maverick Evans said he felt introspective after the first day.

“My last first day of school was really interesting and very jolting in several ways,” Evans said. “It was an entirely different atmosphere than what I was used to the last three years of my school career.”

Evans said many of his close friends already graduated, and he noticed a few new teachers along with the freshmen, creating a completely different environment.

“The school is new and the life is new,” Evans said. “I came back to school after summer and nothing was the same, but it all looked similar.”

Senior Sarah Bell turned her introspection into advice for the new students.

“I would tell incoming freshmen not to be scared to get involved and not to be intimidated by us seniors,” Bell said. “Whatever you put into high school is what you get out of it.”

Bell said she hopes to get as much out of her final year of high school as possible, encouraging other students to do the same.

“Don’t think you are too cool for everything,” Bell said. “If you get involved, it makes the experience 10 times better. This is my last year with all of these people, so I am looking for memories.”