To the high school senior that is hoping this upcoming semester will come and go,

SLOW DOWN. If there is one thing that I will regret from my high school years it's that I completely took advantage and wanted so badly to get out of high school and move onto "bigger and better things."

This last semester of high school will be filled with so many different emotions and different feelings. It is sometimes hard to take them all in. Coming from the girl who wanted to get away from her whole high school career, move to a big city and never look back, here I am now after not really taking the time, or getting the opportunity to really enjoy my senior year, wanting nothing more than to be back in my small town, my home.

Go to the basketball game on Friday night. Stand in the student section. Participate in the spirit week dress-up days. Take pictures with your best friends. Cherish this time in your life, because some people do not get to.

There's going to be a time when you look back on these days and wonder why you did not cherish it more. Life gets hard and shit gets real once you walk across the stage at graduation, no matter the path you choose to go down. Things change. You are no longer surrounded by the people you grew up with, the teachers don't know you by your full name, your boss doesn't care if you want that night off to go to the concert, life gets real. At this time, life is easy, whether or not you realize it.

Take a step back. Take it all in. Appreciate the little simple things. The 'lasts' will start coming, fast, so make the most of time you have left.

As the fabulous Brooke Davis (my "OTH" lovers) once said,

“One day, you’re 17 and you’re planning for someday. And then quietly, without you ever really noticing, someday is today. And then someday is yesterday. And this is your life.”