As a member of the Foran band, I can proudly say that every year, we look forward to attending one of our annual overnight trips and competitions. Students in band are given the opportunity to travel to Boston, Washington D.C., New York City, and Disney World in Orlando, Florida. This year, the band planned on attending Disney World from March 19-23. Students had a trip meeting the week prior to discuss the details included in the itinerary. We looked forward to many exciting experiences in Disney, including performances marching down Main Street in Magic Kingdom, participation in a Disney workshop, a competition performance, as well as admission into Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom. Due to the risk of the coronavirus pandemic, the Disney trip has been postponed to fall 2020. For many seniors, including myself, this news was truly devastating.

       Senior and band president Casey Coon has been looking forward to attending the Disney trip since he was in middle school. In the band, Coon has worked extremely hard over his four years at Foran, receiving acceptance into the regional band his sophomore and junior year. He has always been passionate about music and will continue to study music at the University of Connecticut. Missing out on this experience was difficult for him to take in initially. According to Coon, “When I first heard of the cancellation, it was a really hard truth to swallow. It had been a dream of mine and I know it was for a lot of others to have that experience, especially for the seniors who had worked so hard from freshman year to get there. Of course with everything going on, it became a reality that our last trip was never going to happen and we had to move past it.”

       While the Disney experience was one many looked forward to, seniors recognize that it wasn’t the only reason they joined the band. Senior Matthew Martin expresses his feelings on the cancellation and his experience being a four year member of the band. Martin mentions, “While Disney was not the only reason I joined, it was certainly on my mind when I chose to join going into freshman year. I cannot begin to express how happy and grateful I am that I joined the Foran band my freshman year. The friendships that I created during my four years in band are truly remarkable. I am very sad and disappointed that I will not be able to attend Disney as a part of the Foran band. As sad as I am for myself, I feel sympathy for every senior in the Foran band. I believe that the seniors deserve some sort of fun experience to show their contributions to the band over our four years. Disney was our last hoorah and now it was taken away, so I believe we deserve something.”

       Moving past tough news, sometimes it’s important to remember the good times. Senior Matthew Mullen says his favorite memory being in the Foran band was the dinner cruise on the New York trip, or just enjoying class everyday with his friend Michael. He also says, “The amount of laughs we had during class and how much fun we had is

unforgettable and I will always remember some of the greatest memories we made in class and on the trips. I made some of my favorite, most funniest, memories in band. People out of band don’t realize how fast all of us bond together. I made all of my closest high school friends in band and definitely had my favorite memories in band with the previous trips and just going to fifth period everyday.”

       Even though band seniors are still struggling with the loss of their dream of traveling to Disney with the Foran band, all students are facing sadness during this uncertain time. Right now, it’s most important for everyone to stay home and focus on staying healthy. While we all want to be back at school and enjoy these exciting opportunities, we must put our health and safety first. This change may be difficult, but we must push through it to keep our families safe and healthy. Regardless of this hardship, senior Casey Coon says, “We had so grown so much as a group and even though we didn’t quite get our happy ending, we knew we wouldn’t let it define us.”