Dear High School Senior,

This time two years ago, I was a lot like you. In fact, some might say, I was you. My friends and I were excitedly looking to our futures, unsure of what would come next but excited all the same. We were headed to schools hundreds or even thousands of miles apart, and we had no idea what the year would hold for us individually or as a group.

My first piece of advice is to spend time with those friends. Spend time with your family. Spend time at the spots in your town that you love most. Those are the parts of life you'll miss most when you leave, or even just when everyone else leaves. Leave happy memories there, and with those people. You'll never regret the extra time spent.

Now, as someone who is closer to college graduation than high school graduation (all I have to say is yikes, honestly), I'm going to let you in on a little secret: college graduation is so much scarier. More exciting, a bigger accomplishment, sure. But 10 times more terrifying. Enjoy this. You're headed to the real world, but college is a magical chunk of time in which you're an adult with zero of the responsibilities that being an adult entails. It might seem scary, but I promise it'll be a great feeling to be done with high school and headed to that next step.

Choose to foster those friendships you've built in high school, too. As a Girl Scout, I remember being told "Keep the friends, new and old, for one is silver and the other is gold." It's true. There is something so valuable about high school friends, because they've seen you at every stage. They know your parents, your acquaintances, your house, your pets, your car, and your personality. They know the people and places that make up your life. While you will make those friends in college (you will, I know this for sure), it will take time. There is absolutely something special about somebody who doesn't expect you ever to explain yourself. So, even though it might seem like a good idea to bond immediately with your new #froomie and forget anybody and everybody from your hometown, don't forget those people. Bond with the roommate, but keep the person who let you cry after that first boy broke your heart, or the person who brought your favorite snack on a bad day, or who knew where you wanted to go to college and jumped up and down or cried right alongside you when acceptance letters rolled in.

The point is, high school senior, take it from an (almost) college junior that you're going to want to cherish these last weeks. I know all you want is to be done, but slow down. You'll be done sooner than you think. You might not miss it, because, let's be honest, college is a lot of fun. But you'll be glad you savored the last moments with people near and dear to you for a little bit, and you'll be glad you enjoyed a summer simply at home with family and friends.