For many high schools, midterms are approaching faster than you can say "midterms." This week of hour long tests and late, stressful nights marks the middle point of the school year, but for the seniors it marks the beginning of the end. The end of khakis and polos or wool skirts and pastel colored oxfords, the end of eight class periods a day, and the end of high school.
I can remember back to when I was in the same position just two short years ago. Most students are torn between the nostalgia and familiarity of high school and the future and excitement that goes along with graduating and going to college. Some students make the conscious decision to wish high school away, but then they miss out on those four months that really complete the high school experience. So seniors, you owe it to yourself to make the most of high school and not check out before your due date.
Don't skip class. I know that most seniors hop onto the senior slide, and there is nothing wrong with that. But as my senior religion teacher once said, "it's a slide, not a drop off a cliff." Sure, you have been accepted to the college of your dreams but that does not mean your learning experience is over. There is a reason that some of the teachers choose to teach senior classes. They have insights and life experiences that they try to inflict upon their students before they enter the college world and beyond. So go to class and learn more than just how to translate The Iliad or the derivative of a function.
Attend every event you possibly can. Go see your friends play in their games or attend opening weekend of the big play. All of your fellow seniors work extremely hard to make memories and make their mark in school, so support them and get some school spirit.
Take lots of pictures. Maybe one of my biggest regrets from high school is not taking more pictures. They capture memories and moments that you can remember for the rest of your life. Sure, you will probably remember them anyway, but pictures preserve that memory even when you get old and senile and try to remember that specific point in your life and you just can't.
Most importantly, have fun. The reason there is such a thing as the senior slide is so that students can have the chance to be young and make memories. So when your friend asks you to go get coffee at 11 on a school night, go for a drive after midnight, or go see the newest movie that just hit theaters, do it. Often, that is when you make the best memories during your four years in high school and form relationships with people who could be around for all of those important moments in your life, like your wedding or raising your children.
Ultimately, it is your own decision how you finish high school. You can mentally leave high school, but physically you still have to walk through the doors of that school for the next four months. If you are going to be there, give it your all and make the most of it. You only get one high school, one chance at being a teenager, and one opportunity to make memories. So what is it going to be?
