“It's a place where one person if it's the right person, changes us all. East High is having friends we'll keep for the rest of our lives, and that means we really are 'all in this together'. Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat!” - Troy Bolton

My senior year was nothing like Troy’s in "High School Musical 3," and I am positive yours will not be either; sorry if that was too harsh for you to hear right off the bat. I am sure you have already realized no one breaks out into song and dance in the middle of the day, and no that will not change senior year. Despite this, I can honestly say senior year was by far the best year of my life, and now as I pack my life up and completely start over in college, I have realized how amazing that experience has been. I really would do anything to have the chance to relive my senior year again, and with that being said; enjoy every single minute of your senior year. Once you walk across that stage on graduation day there is no going back. Trust me, graduation day seems so far away now but it comes so quick. When it does there is no turning back time.

Senior year was for me, and will be for you, the biggest roller coaster ride you ever experience. The ups and downs are uncontrollable and will hit you when you least expect it. Senior year starts off with fun and games. It's football season, you are spending every Friday night under the lights, cheering on your undefeated home team. You are then at the duchess diner with your entire graduating class, cheering on the boys while getting hit with fresh fries because it is not a Friday night at the diner without a food fight occurring. Then, still on the same night, you are at a crazy house party, still cheering on the boys, and wishing nights like these would never end. Next thing you know you are at the LAST states game and you have officially experienced your first “last.” Then things will go a bit downhill, and it is time to get serious. College applications do not do themselves, no matter how much wishful thinking you do; and same goes for scholarship applications. Do yourself a favor and fill out every single one of those you can find, you will be thanking me later. You will begin to have to piece your life together and decide where you want to go to school if you even want too, and what you are going to do with your life. I still think to this day it is crazy that at 17 and 18 years old we are supposed to be making BIG decisions like this but most of us still have not even learned about how to balance a checkbook or do our taxes, but that is a whole different story. It will be stressful the college application experience but it gives you a chance to reflect on yourself and things will calm down again. Then the New Year comes and you reach a peak again. College acceptance letters start coming in the mail and you still will not let yourself believe this is all really happening. Semi-formal dances will occur, the stress from midterms will be over, and it will officially be your year, class of 2016! Then May rolls around and stress will find you again. You will officially have to pick a new home for the next four years, and if you are someone like me who has put so much into their high school for the past four years, it will not sit well finding a new home. However, there is no working around that one, but after you do decide on a new home, everything goes up from there with prom, senior picnic and banquet. Next thing you know it is graduation day.

It really will not hit you that your whole world is going to change until it is two weeks before move-in day, you are packing up your room, and witnessing someone leave your hometown each day. Graduation day is a blur to me. It could be that I am in denial now but it really did not hit me in that moment that my high school (not so) musical was over. I still had everyone around me that day and night that I felt so comfortable around. Now that each day someone packs up to leave, I really wish I had the chance to enjoy high school again.

Senior year has its ups and downs. You realize who your true friends are, who will be there for you until the end of time, and who never really cared. You will cry buckets of tears and laugh for hours until you feel the urge to pee. You will do some crazy things, and step out of your comfort zone. In the end, everyone comes together and you realize where you belong. Enjoy every single second of senior year, the good and the bad because you will never experience anything like it ever again.