Every year as graduation slowly inches closer, there are benchmarks to signify that the end of the year is drawing near. For seniors, the whole year is a series of lasts: the last first day of Tabor, last Holderness Day, last Christmas Breakfast. The first event to truly chronicle the depleting time, however, is the annual 100 Days Dinner.
Though actually only 84 days from graduation – including weekends and breaks – the 100 Days Dinner remains a symbol of the end of the year and the need to take advantage of every second Tabor has left. The dinner is exclusive to seniors, and it is a tradition that students look forward to as they move through the grades.
“It made me realize that graduation is getting scary close,” says one senior, Thomas Kelly. “But I’m definitely grateful to have these last days with such good friends. I’m definitely not going to let them go to waste.”
Besides being a reminder of limited time, the dinner also serves as a fun evening for the seniors.
This year’s theme was Jungle Safari. The lobby of Hoyt Auditorium was completely decked out in jungle decorations. There were huge plants, giant posters of jungle scenes covering the walls, zebra balloons, and stand-ups of Tarzan and Jane and various jungle animals with their heads cut out for students to take pictures in.
Seniors made sure to keep with the festive spirit as well. They came in tiger and lion costumes, or donned khakis, vests, hats and binoculars and showed up as explorers.
Students posed in front of posters and next to decorations, capturing memories of the first big Tabor event catered specifically for them.
The options for food, too, were incredible. Parents made and brought the whole feast, and there was a table exclusively for dessert. Pies, cakes, brownies, and more were laid out for students. There was a raffle, too, in which students won gift cards to places from Amazon to local cafes.
“The 100 Days Dinner was really fun,” says senior Karen Morahan. “I loved the theme, and everyone was really into it. I think almost everyone dressed up.”
Despite the fun, everyone definitely felt the urgency that their Tabor careers are coming to a close.
“I’m definitely excited for college,” says Morahan. “But I can’t imagine leaving Tabor. It’s been my home for four years. I have so little time left with my best friends.”
Soon, other markers of moving on – prom, baccalaureate, and graduation – will all get closer. This dinner was, for many, the “beginning of the end.”
Its major purpose was to alert seniors to take advantage of the time they have because it’ll too soon be over.
Some seniors have been at Tabor for four years, and others for one. Regardless, Tabor is something of a second home, one that seniors will soon have to leave. Everyone agrees, though, that 100 days just doesn’t seem like enough.
By Madeleine Gregory