As the school year comes to a close, we get another year older and another grade higher. Just as entering into middle school as an eighth grader or entering high school as a ninth grader, the shift from junior to senior year is a game changer!

Whether it's losing a friendship or not getting into the college of your choice, senior year is the make or break of most high schoolers futures.

As a junior myself, my fears consume me as to who I want to become and what I want to do with my life. Senior year is like life: unclear and full of endless possibilities. As this chapter of my life opens, I am sure that many of you can understand these fears all too well:

1. All that encapsules College Applications

From deadlines to early admission, from tests to essays, college applications are a total stresser!

2. Scholarship Stress

As many as you know, college is expensive and scholarships are key! Whether it be sports, academic, or art scholarships, anything is helpful in order to make a future.

3. Not getting into the college of your choice

When you spend your entire high school career killing yourself in order to impress your favorite college and you don’t get accepted.

4. The infamous “SENIORITIS”

When the stress of senior year takes its toll and you have reached your breaking point. You just have to give up and let senioritis set in!

5. The responsibility is endless

You’re finally old enough to make decisions about your future, so why not give teenagers adult-level responsibilities… because that makes total sense!

6. Three letters: ACT/SAT

Everyone knows that the three letters that freak out most high schoolers are: ACT and SAT. You kill yourself to make a good score and pray that it impresses college admission boards.

7. Playing your final game on your high school team

The bond that is created on a field, on a track, or in a pool is something that all athletes treasure. The idea that you will no longer be with your teammates every afternoon, weekend, or summer is a fear that all athletes experience.

8. Essays, essays, essays

Since the beginning of ninth grade, sentence structure and word choice have been burned into our minds, all in hope of creating the perfect essay that will impress even the ivys!

9. If it's not breaking bank, you’re probably not spending enough

From senior dues to down payments on new supplies, high school dips our toes in the pool of loans and debt and it only worsens once we hit college (look forward to Ramen Noodles and water for the next four years of your life).

10. Real world downfalls and life after high school

Our whole lives, we have had guides called parents to show us what life is and how we should live it. Now that senior year has come around, we all know what’s next: taxes, jobs, and lots of coffee!

11. Losing the friendships we all thought were lifelong

“Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget.” People say that the friends we make in high school will be with us till the end, but as we each part our separate ways, the lifelong friendships and memories are simply that. Memories.