Dear high school seniors,

First off, congratulations! You are on the home stretch of your high school career, and you deserve a pat on the back! You have almost completed a long and grueling 12+ years that you never thought you would see the end of, but the day of receiving your diploma is closer than you think! I have seen many of you posting pictures on Facebook and Instagram smiling in t-shirts from the school you've committed to, and tweets about how you "can't wait to leave this town", and how you're "so done with high school"... BUT slow your roll.

Your high school education has taught you to know that the powerhouse of a cell is the mitochondria, that please excuse my dear aunt sally (P.E.M.D.A.S) will always come in handy, and that Bill Nye will always be the go-to-guy for learning anything and everything about science.

But what high school doesn't teach you is that you probably shouldn't spend two hours in the morning straightening your hair and perfecting your winged eyeliner, because you truly will be an afterthought at the most to your fellow peers. It doesn't teach you to say thank you to some of your favorite teachers that helped pave your way to success and were honestly the only reason you made it to school some days. It doesn't teach you to invest more of your time in people and relationships and to block out all of the drama because one day you're going to look back and wish you never said those mean things to that girl.

High school doesn't prepare you for the goodbyes. Look around you, you've walked these halls with some of the same friends every day, made sure that you sat next to each other during class, ate lunch at the same table and even rallied at sporting events together. All this time spent together, and you are still never going to be ready to hug your best friend before you get into the car to start the next chapter of your life.

High school doesn't prepare you for the bittersweet last "home games" of the season with a team that's become like your family, or the graduation parties, that serve as a celebration of your success and a farewell all in one.

Unfortunately, it's very true that life takes everyone in very different directions and these times may be the last you see of some people. Hug your friends a little tighter, laugh with them a little harder, and make memories you won't forget because everything is about to change.

I don't write this to scare you, or to make you dread leaving your friends, I write this so you don't blink. Don't take for granted your small hometown with your small schools that hold 75% of the same kids you've gone to school with for those 12+ years. You'll learn to miss it.

With Love,

A freshman in college who is loving all the changes, but missing her friends a whole lot xoxo