Dear Rising Seniors,

Wow. You’ve made it. After almost 15 years of going to school, you’ve done it. This is your year.

You’re probably incredibly excited to be getting ready for college and starting a whole new life. This year is going to be tough, I can assure you that. No one prepares you for the feeling of defeat of not getting into your dream school or the anxiety that accompanies realizing that you will probably not see many of your high school best friends again. No one also prepares you for the feeling of independence that you get or the feeling of accomplishment when you finally walk across the stage, realizing that a huge chapter of your life has now come to a close.

The biggest thing that I can tell you about this year is to enjoy every part – the good, the bad, and the ugly. This year will be full of special memories that you’ll keep with you for the rest of your life, be it weekend trips with friends, those nights that you all just hung out at home lazing around and watching Netflix, or the special moments you had with your family because this is probably the last time you’ll be living at home full-time.

Don’t get embarrassed when your parents try to be involved in your life and hang out with you more. As excited as you are about leaving and starting the next phase of your life, your parents are just as anxious to see their child go off into the crazy and unsafe world. Don’t push them away because they need you just as much you need them. Once you get to college, you’ll quickly realize that you should’ve gone out shopping with your mom instead of your friends that one weekend or you should have gone to the movies with your dad when he asked you. These small things are things that you won’t be able to do as easily once you go to college.

Don’t get hit by senioritis. Some would consider me a hypocrite for saying this, not following the “practice what you preach mentality,” but I can say from personal experience that you need to stay focused throughout the year. Do not feel that after you get into college, you’re done. Put in a little extra effort into your schoolwork and you will be guaranteed not to have your acceptance rescinded or feel stressed the morning of your exams, which you forgot to study for.

Most of all, just savor every moment – every small event, every small conversation, every small interaction. These are the things you will miss the most in college. Senior year will fly by. Sometimes you might feel overwhelmed or that the weight of the world is on your shoulders as people now finally consider you an adult. Don’t let it get to you. Take on the responsibility, while also living for yourself. Go out and have fun; try new things. Relish in each and every moment.

Good luck on, quite frankly, the most important year of your life thus far. I promise you it’ll be a rollercoaster ride of emotions but one that you won’t want to get off of.

Sincerely,

Someone who was in your position just a year ago