As a freshman, graduation felt like a lifetime away. Unfortunately a "lifetime" turned into a blur and three years later I am preparing for my final semester of high school. They say high school goes by within the blink of an eye and they are the best four years of your life, I can confirm that at least one of these statements are true.

As freshmen, we experience a lot of firsts. The first awkward but still sort of nice semi-formal dance, the first home football game, the first pep rally that no one really knows the purpose of, the first stressful finals week, and many more "monumental" happenings.

It's strange to be preparing for all of these firsts to become lasts, and many of them already passed during the first semester of senior year. I find myself wishing I would've taken these moments in while I had the chance. I wish I memorized the joy on the faces of my peers as they moved their bodies in ways that could possibly be considered dancing at my last semi-formal. I wish I absorbed the magic in the stands of the student section or the vibrancy of the tacky and all-too-bright neon as our football team finished off the season.

It feels like we have forever, but 18 weeks will turn into nothing in no time and graduation will be here. So I am determined to make the most of this final semester even though I probably won't stop complaining about waking up early every morning.

Class of 2017, this is our year. The year we graduate, maybe go to college, maybe start a career, and maybe change the world. I know a lot of us want to just get it over with already, but let's take it one day at a time and enjoy the comfort of high school while we can.