Dear Seniors,

Stop counting. Graduation will come soon enough. Stop counting. Stop watching the days pass. With only two months left, I know it’s hard. You’re ready to be finished. I know that feeling, believe me. I’ve been there. One year ago, I was in your shoes. I was sitting listlessly in class wondering why I bothered to show up to school anymore. I knew I was going to graduate, and it seemed like a waste of time to go to class.

I was wrong. It’s not a waste of time. Stop spending your last days waiting for the year to be over and enjoy the time you have left. Celebrate. Savor every second of your senior trip, the last few spring sporting events, the graduation practice and even your final tests. Trust me, finals will never be this easy again. Ever.

Hug your parents and siblings, pet your dog and cuddle your cat. Stand in your own shower and enjoy the fact that you don’t have to wear shower shoes.

Have sleepovers with your friends. Eat breakfast at midnight. Giggle about boys and be carefree.

Stop worrying about college, your dorm, roommate and the scholarships or financial aid you may or may not get. Everything will fall into place.

Appreciate that you don’t have to use a public laundry facility—and that you’re not paying for your laundry soap or dryer sheets.

Soon, graduation day will be her. All the things you looked forward to, prom, senior trip, sports banquets and graduation day, will be memories. Soon you will leave for college, and miss everything you took for granted like your family, a home cooked meal and a bedroom bigger than a closet. Don’t take this time, the precious few months before graduation and the start of college, for granted.

Be present. Appreciate the people around you who want to celebrate your accomplishments. Believe it or not, graduating high school is an accomplishment. It is a milestone, and it should be celebrated like any other milestone. I brushed the day off, and didn’t treat it as importantly as I should have. I wish I hadn’t.

Above all, allow yourself to be happy. These next few months will be a whirlwind of stress, boredom and excitement. Let yourself experience everything that go along with graduation, but don’t get so wrapped up that you forget the most important thing of all: to be happy.

I wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors.

Yours,

Future You