You did it. You made it through the hell that is junior year, you survived three years of high school, and now there are only 10 months to go until you're free. I can still remember the excitement the beginning of senior year brought; which is valid because there is so much to look forward to! This is the year you find out what college you're going to, you have your last homecoming, you have prom and graduation, and you run the school. It should be the best part of your high school experience, right?

For many, it is. I ask a lot of my friends about their senior years and they say "OMG it was the best year of my LIFE!" But for others, like me, it was, well mediocre. Senior year definitely has its ups, but also definitely has its downs. So, my first piece of advice is...

1. Don't get your expectations too high

Definitely be excited about this final year of high school, but don't put all of your eggs in one basket. When going into September, I had plenty of drama going on. I figured, well now that I'm a senior all of my problems are gonna go away. But alas, I was wrong. Senior year comes with its own load of baggage, so don't assume that everything is going to be butterflies and rainbows because honestly, a lot of the time it won't be (not to be a pessimist, I'm just being real).

2. Embrace the time you have with your friends

This is important. No matter what hardships senior year throws at you, make sure you really spend and appreciate time with your closest friends. Go on road trips, have dinner and movie nights, sleep over at each other's houses on weeknights, host pregames, go to parties, the possibilities are endless. But, most importantly, don't isolate yourself!

In a few short months, you will all be separated and onto new experiences in college. You will have a whole new friend group and everything you've ever known will change. So make sure you embrace the time you have with each other while you still have it.

3. In the same breath, only associate yourself with your real friends

Going into senior year, my friend group was massive, even though I didn't necessarily love every person I hung out with. Coming out of senior year, I am going to keep in touch with probably six people at most, and that's ok!

Senior year is all about narrowing down who you love and disassociating yourself with people that give you bad vibes. Don't try to remain BFFs with someone that makes you feel bad about yourself because you have limited time left. You don't want to waste it on people who will be irrelevant in only a few short months.

4. Don't get too stressed out about the college process

Which college I went to meant A LOT to me. I stayed home many Saturday nights to finish essays. I cried myself to sleep when thinking about my future's uncertainty. I applied Early Decision to my dream school and got rejected, then got deferred from my second choice the same day. So yeah, you can say the college process really had a toll on me. And that constant stress took a lot away from my senior year.

The college process isn't perfect. If you get into your dream school, that's amazing! But for a large majority of people, it doesn't work out the way they planned. HOWEVER, everything will work out in the end. I heard that saying probably over 10,000 times throughout the year, but looking back on it, it's true. I ended up getting into my second choice school and am as happy as ever.

I found a roommate I love, I'm taking classes I'm passionate about, and I'm overall SUPER happy. Almost everybody I talk to feels the same way. So stop hitting your head on the wall and take a deep breath. Everything will work out the way it's supposed to.

Some final thoughts...

All I have to say to you as seniors is relax. Everything that happens truly is for a reason. You will end up at the perfect college for you, you will end high school with your true best friends, and you will settle everything with that one boy. You will be OK. And although it's easy to regret the dumb things you do, take in stride the small, stupid things that happen to you--the failed tests, the dumb fights--because it will all be over soon. And in the end, you will see a super cut of your greatest hits, not the negatives. Don't rush to get out of high school because trust me, you're going to miss it more than you think.

You don't know the importance of a moment until it becomes a memory. So enjoy your moments, every single one.