I bet you can’t wait to get out. You got out of bed on the first day of school, maybe you were a little sad and nostalgic, or maybe you weren’t. You were walking through the same hallways, seeing the same teachers, eating lunch at the same table with the same friends. You left school to go to the same sports on the same field and you'd go home and sleep in the same room you’ve slept in since you were in Kindergarten. You may be a little nervous for the chapter you will soon start writing in college, but ultimately you are excited.
As a college sophomore, I have experienced both senior year of high school and freshman year of college. Let me tell you, they’re both incredible.
Whether you go to college ten miles from your house, or three hours upstate, or seven states over, things are completely different from how they were in high school. If you’re ready to graduate and go to college, you are not wrong for feeling that way. College is amazing. You will find new friends and a new place to call home. You’ll get to stay out later and live on your own. Though you will still be dependent on your parents, you get all the perks of being an adult without fully having to be one.
But don’t forget that right now, you’re still a senior in high school.
Don’t take this year for granted, because it goes by so quickly.
This year will consist of so many “lasts.” You’ve probably already attended your last first day of school. I remember so well the pep rallies of senior year. You’ll forever remember your last rival football game. You’ll never forget your last football game, whether you are the starting quarterback, or the cheerleader on the sidelines, or the sax player in the band, or the huge fan in the bleachers. You’ll probably shout after your last test (I did). You’ll play your sport for the last time, and you’ll cry on senior night. Sometime during the year, you’ll wear your letter jacket for the last time.
You’ll find that senior year is different from any of year of high school. You’ll run down the hallway of your school a couple of times throughout the year because, by now, you know that you can do just about anything you want. You’ll slack off a little towards the end, because you’re just “so ready to leave, OMG”. Your parents will let you stay out a little later on school nights. You will find yourself in tears every once in a while, but that won’t last long. You’ll take drape pictures and senior pictures, and you’ll post too many #seniorsunday on Instagram. Your mom will hug you more, so prepare for that.
These lasts will dig a hole in your heart and they will live there forever. These are memories you will tell your younger siblings about. You’ll have a reunion in ten years – everyone with their degrees and careers – and you’ll laugh about these times over dinner. You’ve probably heard your parents talk about their senior year of high school. Guess what. You’re here. You are beginning an incredible year of your life. Don’t spend all of your time wishing its graduation day. Graduation day will come and you won’t ever be able to go back. Go out with your friends. Spend the night with them whenever you can and make every minute of the weekend last, but don’t be afraid to miss the party and stay home with your Mom and Dad. Be nice to everyone, because some of your classmates you will never see again after graduation day. Write things down so you won’t forget, because eventually, you will. Work really hard because senioritis is a real disease and you will thank yourself later. Take pictures and print them out; you’ll find yourself looking through them a year later and you’ll smile.
Looking back, my senior year was one for the books, and it is because I took full advantage of each day. I hope when you look back, you can say that too.
