Most people look forward to college, as it opens up all new doors for everyone. It also gives us the chance to be on our own for the first time, and we get to (finally!) make decisions for ourselves. I was part of this crowd; I couldn't wait to be apart from my family, from my house, and have the opportunity to be free and start over. I didn't hide it, either. I was fine with telling people how much I hated my high school, or how badly I just wanted to flee the country. Ever since I stepped into my high school on the first day of my freshman year, I've wanted to be the one graduating and moving on with my life. Now, as I sit and reminisce on my newly-finished junior year, I keep thinking to myself, What now?

My whole life has led up to this day, when I finally became a senior. And all of a sudden graduation occurred, and I officially became a senior. I am in my last year of high school ever. I don't know how to feel about it. Behind me are all these incredible -- and equally horrific -- memories from my past 17 years of existence, but ahead of me is a stressful but monumental year for me. I will find out where I'm attending college, I will graduate, make and lose friends, and probably shed countless amounts of tears along the way. It's so scary and exhilarating all at the same time. My life is changing before my eyes, and I'm seriously questioning why I wished it all away so quickly.

My freshman year dragged on forever. My classes were basic and uninteresting, and I spent more time staring at the clock than I did at the board or my notes. Sophomore year seemed like time finally decided to speed up a bit. I met more people, enjoyed my classes a bit more, and finally learned what it meant to learn in a classroom, and what it's like to enjoy learning. Eleventh grade, or my junior year, really was a whirlwind. Between service projects, AP tests, standardized tests, and everything else in between, my year really flew by. Before I knew it, May came around and I was being assigned final projects and given my review packets. Why had I prayed for time to accelerate? Now I'm a senior, I have books to read, and Common Application essays to write, and suddenly I find myself wishing I was a freshman all over again.

Real life begins soon, and I won't be living with my sisters, parents, or puppies in a little over a year from now. I won't be a few steps from the beach, or a drive away from New York anymore. Everything that I've come to know and love is going to be gone. To think that freshman year me wanted out so badly saddens me, because she didn't appreciate it. I do now, and the fact that I'm no longer a high school freshman but a senior, amazes me. I have survived over 545 days of high school, 392 tests and quizzes, 204 arguments with my parents, and countless tears shed throughout my past three years, and that amazes me. I finally feel happy and content with myself; so much so that I don't want to run anymore. I want to appreciate every impossible teacher and every hard day and every sip of coffee that got me through my classes. It all has made me who I am today, and the person I will be tomorrow.

So, as cliché as it sounds, I wish the best to my current peers. We've done it together, and we're going to finish strong. College is on the horizon, but it's not here yet, and I can't wait to continue our high school careers as a team. And to the incoming freshmen: Don't wish it away. It goes by so fast, which sounds like a lie but I can promise you that it flies by. High school will be nearly over, and you'll be wishing it back, just like I am.