Congratulations!

You made it to your senior year. This next year will be one of the quickest years of school you experience, and I'm sure this first semester has flown by quickly. You will make so many amazing memories this year that you will dream about while sitting in a thousand person lecture, wishing you could go back to your beloved homeroom class. Senior year is fun, but it's also a crucial year.

Don't, I repeat, don't procrastinate on college and scholarship applications. Writing a paper when you should be sleeping is not fun. Pace yourself. You will write countless essays, and fill out numerous applications during this year. Spread these applications out and I promise you won't get overwhelmed.Take tons of pictures, and I really mean tons. Throw in some videos as well! Capture every moment that you can. These times will slip away before you know it and pictures are a fantastic way to capture these precious memories. Go to every school event! Even if "no one is going" or it is no longer "cool", you should still go. You will never have another opportunity to go to your senior prom or a high school fundraiser put on by your favorite club. Don't stress out about your act/sat score. Once you get to college, those numbers are things of the past! Study hard and do your best, but don't worry if your score is not as high as your best friends. On that note, don't compare yourself to others! Everyone is unique, and everyone learns and tests differently. While everyone's act/sat score might be a hot topic now, that will soon fade. Keep studying and working hard.

Senioritis is real and hard to avoid, but the study skills you possess in high school will follow you to college. It is much easier to fine tune your skills in college rather than completely change them. Spend time with your family. You have no idea how much you will miss them until you have to go months without seeing them. The time apart makes you grow but is hard. Go out with them instead of your friends once in a while and don't take advantage of this quality time. It will be greatly missed. Finally enjoy being a senior! Enjoy knowing all the teachers and classmates. That will quickly change in college. Senior year is a roller coaster of emotions full of "lasts times." Take a deep breath and take in these lasts few months of school! They will be gone before you know it!