To all of the high school seniors who are just beginning second semester: you've finally made it. You've been waiting for this moment since the first day of freshmen year, and the feeling of being a "second-semester senior" is unparalleled. Technically, second semester just entails that colleges won't receive your grades until the end of the year. However, these next few months will undoubtedly be the most memorable moments of your life. It's going to go by faster than you realize, so here are some things to keep in mind and look forward to.
1. Senioritis.
Senioritis is the only diagnosis you want to get this semester. It's inevitable and definitely real. This is the last time in your life you can probably do nothing and get away with it, so do it. Miss first period (and second and third) because you're too tired. In fact, don't feel ashamed of yourself if you start to write notes on a tissue instead of loose leaf paper, a paper cut becomes a valid reason to miss a day of school, or if your backpack mysteriously goes missing. Caring is so first semester.
2. Spring Break
Are you really a high school senior if you don't go to the Bahamas, Miami, or somewhere tropical for spring break? It is going to be the craziest week of your life, and while it most definitely will be memorable, it's questionable if it will be rememberable. Go on any elevated surface you can find, even the radiator in your hotel room. Take the phrase "no regrets" to a whole new level. By this time next year, you're going to be looking back wishing you could do it all over again.
3. Committing to college
There is no better adrenaline rush than opening your college decision letter and posting that long awaited "I'm committed to college" status to Facebook. Let the rivalries between you and your friends begin, and it's finally socially acceptable to wear the endless college apparel you have in your closet. Don't forget to celebrate every college commitment the right way: lots of food, endless balloons, and a huge bottle of champagne.
4. Prom
Just when you think spring break was the craziest week of your life, prom weekend happens. Whether you're out in the Hamptons or partying on the Jersey Shore, you are guaranteed to have the most reckless weekend of your life. Your strict prom diet quickly ends as Easy Mac becomes a way of life, Doritos become your breakfast and dinner, and you want to kick out whoever took the last Cup of Noodles. Why fall asleep in a bed when the pool float outside is just as comfortable? Supervision is overrated anyways.
5. Friends become family
As cliché as it sounds, everybody is starting to realize that second semester marks the beginning of the end. Friendships begin to emulate the atmosphere of family, and parting ways with your best friends in a few months is seemingly impossible. Hang out with your friends on a random Tuesday night and do absolutely nothing productive, buy last minute concert tickets, go on long drives with no destination. Your high school friends will always have a special place in your heart, so take advantage of the time left that you have with them.
6. Your excuse for everything is that it could be your last.
"F it, we're seniors". Live this motto to the fullest, because before you know it, the last bell is going to ring on your last day of high school, and just like that, it's over. Soon enough it's going to be your last sports event, the last time your coffee is going to spill all over the hallway, last time you get in trouble and it essentially means nothing to your life. The best justification for anything is that you're a senior. So have the most amazing second semester, and don't forget to be mindful of all the little things you're grateful for along the way.
