I am going to be brutally honest here. I am terrified for my senior year of high school. Maybe terrified is a bit strong, but it seems to encapsulate my feelings. I know this is supposed to be the best time of my life, and I should be having more fun than ever this year, but as I sit doing my summer work the night before the first day of my senior year, I can’t help but feel a little bit afraid.

Senior year is when you make all the decisions that will impact the rest of your life. What you choose to do now will have a snowball effect on the rest of your life. It’s a lot of pressure for an 18 year old if you ask me. I am so excited to be done with high school, don’t get me wrong. I won’t miss having to wake up at 6 a.m. five days a week, and sitting on cold metal chairs for eight hours at a time. But I will miss the security of high school. The comfort of coming home to my room, my bed, my house after a long day. I will miss the routine that high school places you in: alarm, breakfast, three blocks, lunch, two blocks, sports, home, homework, dinner, bed. Repeat for four years or until graduated as necessary.

I am nervous about living in a dorm, being away from my family, and not having that safe place to fall back on. To be honest, I’m scared I might starve to death. I am so excited for college and the new opportunities it will bring me. I know I will have so much fun, and learn so much, and be taken out of my comfort zone every single day. That I can’t wait for. I'm sure this will be a learning curve for me. I know I will enjoy college, and I know senior year will be fun. Learning to juggle the responsibilities of becoming an adult, and everything else that senior year entails will be an adventure in and of itself. I am ready for my senior year, and for this new chapter in my life to begin.