By Chris Nguyen
Features Editor

Video by Christina Baker

Graduation means letting go of a life that was once their livelihood, their home. For some seniors, there are the trips to faraway beaches or maybe to Disney World, but for some seniors, these will be trips to a place that holds a much stronger place in their heart, as they will be going to the country that gave birth to, well, them and their heritage and culture.

Senior Benita Thomas will be visiting India. In addition to having a vacation and getting a chance to reunite with family and friends, Thomas will be performing dance routines.

“I’ve been preparing for the last few months and get the chance to do so dances that I’ve been doing in my life in a place that has created them,” Thomas said. “It is a chance to have a better understanding of who I am and where I came from.”

The trip will be Thomas’ in five years.

“It’s been five years since I have been to India,” Thomas said. “I get to see so many people I love for the first time in a while. Also, unlike when I was younger, I will really begin to appreciate India’s beauty and not be unaware of my surrounds. It’s going to be a bittersweet moment for me since I am now ‘grown-up’ and it’ll be my last trip for a while.”

Furthermore, senior Jennifer Song will be going back to South Korea with her aunt and cousins, however, with a tiny excursion in between there and America.
For a few weeks before heading for her home country, she will spend time in Tokyo. There, she hopes to reunite with some friends, who have moved there, meeting at halfway point through the magnet train.

“I am actually going to Japan because the airlines ran out of flights to Korea until August,” Song said. “But I realized I also get to meet up with some people from Coppell, including Kaoru Nakagawa, who I have not seen in years.I’m excited to go to Japan just because I have heard so many weird, but cool places that I have to visit for things like clothes.”

In addition, she sees the South Korea trip as the last hurrah before heading off to University of Texas.

“Once I become independent in college, this chance won’t be here,” Song said. “I get to reconnect with my culture and family for one last time.”

Senior Hiba Mirza will be going to Pakistan. However, unlike Thomas, she has frequently visited the country, notably this past March for a personal family matter.

“I am hoping this trip will be more about relaxing more than anything,” Mirza said. “I have been really lucky to be able to go to so many times that it will be weird not to have that chance once I head off to college.”

For these three seniors and many others, these trips are not just about the sense of adventure or just having fun, rather they are about going to a place that gave them one part of their identity. It’s about moving forward by looking back.