I couldn't wait to get out.

Looking back now, two years later, I regret wishing my time in High School away. The first half of senior year seems to drag. You tend to just "go through the motions," just like you had for the three years prior. Once it gets to be midterm week though, it all starts to hit you.

You begin to realize everything at once...

Time is running out.

From midterm week until Graduation in June, you have approximately 149 days left including the weekends, and only 106 days of school left. That is including Spring Break and other days off for whatever reason. The time you have left walking through the same familiar halls, into the same classrooms with teachers you've known for the last four years, and have built relationships with, is running down and quickly. Make the most of the time you do have left with your graduating class. Talk to people you've never talked to before. Say things you've never said. Do the things that scare you. Now is the time, because time will soon be gone.

Everything will change.

For most, the people that they are graduating with in June, are the same people they have been in classes with for the last 13 years of their lives. Maybe you weren't best friends with everyone, but everyone was familiar and gave you a sense of home. It was where you fit in. Once you walk across that stage and receive your diploma, everything changes and for many, change is scary. You can return back to your high school on your college breaks, for an athletic game, or an event but it never feels like it used to. All you have to hold onto are memories, so make as many as you can while you still have the chance. Feelings can change, but memories won't.

You will be entirely independent once you get to college. This can be a good thing, but also may affect you negatively. Professors in college will assign work, but rarely take late assignments. They usually do not give extra credit opportunities. Your grades are entirely on you, and the lee-way you had in high school is gone. Your parents won't be there to pick up the pieces anymore. You can call them, but depending on where you go, that may be all you get. They can't drop everything every time you need something, because it could be a 3 hour drive. You have to learn to be self-sufficient. You have to learn how to budget as well, because they won't be around to shop for your food and clothes anymore. They won't be doing your laundry anymore or cleaning you room. It's a hard transition for some, but it's going to happen. You are an adult now.

Some friendships may end along with High School.

This is one of the hardest, but realest changes that happens after high school ends. Throughout high school, friends change like seasons. The friends you had freshman year, or even last year, may not be the same ones you have now. Friendships begin and end for all sorts of reasons. In this instance, many friendships will come to an end once you head off to college. You may keep in touch here and there, and keep up with one another on social media, but it's not the same. You may see each other once or twice a semester, if that. The best advice I have gotten on losing friends after high school was this, "After high school, you realize you were only friends with people because you saw them 5 times a week." This is true. Be prepared to find out who your real friends are and who is no longer in your life, and learn to accept that time and frequency changes people and relationships. It's unavoidable, but that's life for you.

Be open to making new friends at your college. It will suck to not have the friends you were comfortable with around anymore, but were they always someone you were comfortable around? No, you became comfortable over time. You can do that again, and maybe make friends that are even better suited for you.

Cherish your parents and siblings.

This will be a big change for you, but it is an even bigger change for your parents. They have been there for all 17-18 years of your life, walking you in on your first day of school, packing your school lunches and attending your athletic events and school concerts, and now 13 years later, they will be witnessing your High School graduation. You're almost an adult and can handle a lot on your own, but let them be your parents for a while longer. Let them be involved in your life. They may not show it, but every parent is saddened by the thought of their child moving out and entering the real world. This is especially true of parents when their first or only child heads off to school.

As for siblings, we all know they can get on your last nerve. At times we wish they never existed, but deep down they love you and you love them. Younger siblings are a lot like your parents because they will miss your presence. They may not always act like it but things change for them too. Older siblings may not show it so much, as they have been through it and have their own lives now, but ask them for advice on college. Let your siblings be involved in your transition as well because it will make them feel important to you.

Let your parents and siblings be involved in the dorm room and school supply shopping. Go on the pointless car rides to run errands. Take your siblings to the gym. Meet your parent at work with lunch. Let them know you love them and that they are important to you. Allow them to help set up your dorm and get things all set for you. Take every opportunity to spend time with them before you leave, or before they leave you at school, because you may not think so now, but you will miss them.

Let people know you appreciate them, and thank them for that.

You will come across many people in your life, and many will impact it. The people you meet can affect you as a person. They can shape you into who you are today. Your parents are a big influence on who you become, so thank them for all their efforts, but don't forget the other people who helped you get to where you are.

Your teachers, whether you liked them or not, shaped you into a better student and person. You wouldn't be graduating this June if they didn't do their jobs. Maybe math wasn't your strong-suit, but your math teacher didn't just give up on you. They prepared you for college, the next step in your life. They helped you decide what you want to do with your life, or at least give you an idea of what you're interested in. Many teachers are also there for you when you need advice, or help on things that are not school-related. They are the parents you have when you are in school, and like your real parents, have your best interest in mind. If they didn't want to make a difference, they wouldn't be teaching. Thank them for all the time they've spent teaching you what you needed to know, for holding review classes on their own time, for helping you overcome bad times in or out of school, for taking time to write you recommendation letters for college, for being references for jobs, and for teaching you many life lessons such as hard-work and responsibility.

Next, if you were an athlete, you have your coaches to thank. Not every coaching experience may have been good, but I'm sure you learned something out of it. Like teachers, they have a lot to teach you. Some coaching positions are paid, but when you come from a smaller area, like I did, it may be a volunteer position, so if that applies to your school, you owe your coaches the world. They spend hours with you each day to benefit you. They spend hours coming up with practice plans and drills. They take time to get to know their players, inside and out. They learn your strengths and weaknesses, and work to decrease your weaknesses. They, too, have your best interests in mind. Coaches create a family for you, outside of your real one. They give you people you can count on, that have your back. Ask yourself, "What is the one thing you have taken out of athletics?" and I'm sure a coach's name will pop up or a life lesson that they taught you. Appreciate that. Appreciate the opportunities they gave you, that without them, you may never have gotten.

You made it.

When June comes around, and you're moving your tassels to the other side of your cap, you finally made it. But, don't forget how you got there or where you came from. The town that made you and the people that fostered you along the way, will forever be a part of who you are. Cherish that. Go on and do big things, and continue to make your parents, your teachers, your coaches, and your hometown proud.