Dear High School Seniors,
This is it. You’ve made it to your last semester of high school. You’re finally in the homestretch! Congratulations!
Now, how do you feel?
Excited? Anxious? Nervous? Stressed? Bored? Sad? Happy?
It’s typical to feel all of these things. Over the next few months, you’re going to experience some of life’s monumental moments like getting accepted to college, going to prom, graduating, and starting a whole new chapter of your life. These moments are going to bring you so many memories that you’re going to want to remember for the rest of your life. Unfortunately from here on out, time is going to fly by and before you know it, you’re sitting on a plane writing this letter thinking about how you can’t believe you’re already done with your first semester of college. So here’s one piece of advice:
Take a deep breath, take a step back, and cherish it.
You may have been one of those kids that didn’t like high school and that’s completely understandable. You just want to get out and leave. Or maybe you’re the kid that loves high school and believes that it can’t get any better than this. Well, high school may bring many great memories and events that you won’t experience again in your life, but this is only a small fraction of what your life is going to bring you. Whether you’re going to go off to college in the fall or decided that maybe the path of continuing education isn’t for you, or you want to go into the military or the workforce, you’re going to experience so many new things that’s going to open your eyes. The future is a scary thought and it’s going to bring many things that are harder than stressing over SATs or that term paper you didn’t finish that’s due tomorrow, but it’s up to you to take your life by the reins and take control.
So what are the next few months going to bring you? Well, many life changing decisions. What are you going to do after high school is the number one question asked to high school seniors, for one thing, college acceptance letters will roll in and colleges will be fighting to add great new prospects to their incoming freshman class.
Getting accepted to college is an amazing feeling.
You’ll see many different offers come your way and it’s going to be up to you to make the best decision for you. Just know one thing, your dream school may not be the perfect school for you. Doing your research is so important! Also, there’s no such thing as applying for too many scholarships. You will thank yourself years from now. It’s also okay if you don’t know what you want to do with your life! Find something your passionate about and pursue it!
There’s also something called senioritis. It’s very common amongst seniors in high school, especially second-semester seniors. As much as you’re not going to want to do work or study for exams, you know you have to. To be honest, this is the one point in your high school career when your grades count the least. That doesn’t mean you can slack off though. Just power through these next few months and it all will be worth it in the end.
Make time to hangout with your friends! You’ll miss the times with your best friends from home when you are off at school or working. Cherish the inside jokes, all the times you cried your eyes out while laughing, and the special moments you have with them. You’ll meet tons of new people after high school, but nothing beats those moments with your friends from home. Also make sure you thank your teachers and the faculty since they influenced your path in high school some way.
Graduation and prom are also coming up and these are two moments in your life that you’re really going to want to remember. I won’t spoil anything for you because of course, everyone experiences them differently. Prom is like a last hoorah for your graduating class to get together and it really is a fun night. Go and dance your heart out! Graduation is an emotional rollercoaster, but when you’re walking across the stage after you got your diploma, smile because you did it. You graduated high school!
You’re going to experience tons of emotions and face many decisions during the next few months. You’re going to be saying a lot of goodbyes, go through many changes, but you’re also going to experience a great feeling called an accomplishment. If can take anything away from this letter, just remember my one piece of advice stated earlier in this letter: Take a deep breath, take a step back and cherish it. Take a deep breath when you're feeling overwhelmed because everything is going to be okay. Take a step back at special moments to take it in. Cherish the moments with your friends.
Like Nathan Scott once said, “It's the oldest story in the world. 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.”
-A High School Graduate
