There is a power in your junior year, a rush and thrill like no other. You are standing on the precipice of the rest of your life, and gathering the courage to take the leap. We have often been told that at the end of the day it is not the destination, but the journey that shapes us, and I believe this is true. Even more, I believe that your junior year, not your senior year, is the best part of this journey. In Freytag’s plot diagram, he describes a hero’s journey in five steps: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denoument. This year is the climax of your story, the big final battle. We have been climbing and climbing through our rising action. We have been growing and developing ourselves and our relationships, and finally we have reached the top. This year is the turning point for all of us as we prepare to enter the real world for the first time, so we better make sure we are ready.

We ensure this by preparing ourselves, just like we always have. Many begin reaching out to others, networking their way into first interviews or internships. But what I cannot stress enough is the importance of connecting with yourself first. We have always lived our lives according to the expectations set by others. In middle school we looked towards high school, in high school we spent all of our time preparing for college, and now in our final years of college, all those long stressful nights and busy days finally come to fruition. Everything we have worked for depends on the choices that we make this year.

That sounds terrifying, right?

You’re probably thinking, “Damn, Jess. I thought this was just a feel-good article about your Junior Year? Why include all the scary sh*t?” The short answer is, I have to. I don’t want to sugar coat this, and guys, the world is a scary place. I mean Donald Trump is legitimately running for President; Kim Kardashian brought down golden girl, Taylor Swift; and Justin Beiber deleted his Instagram. (Not to mention all of the other actual life changing news stories out there that have a real impact on this world.) See, your junior year is the last stop before adulthood. It’s when many of us finally settle on a major, start genuinely working for our degrees, and learn how to make eggs without setting pans on fire. (I'm still working on the last one). My point is, there is a lot that is about to change, because suddenly we are going to find ourselves on our own. We come face to face with adulthood, and we have no choice but to move on.

We grow up,

We move forward,

And we start to realize we can actually do this.

For the first time all those big dreams in our heads finally move a little closer to reality, and those stars that we have been reaching for suddenly come into brilliant focus. To put it quite simply, your junior year is the first time that everything that you have been working for starts making sense. It’s the year that you, as a person, start making sense.

That’s not me saying you don’t already know yourself, well, actually, yes it is. You don’t know yourself, and neither do I. We don’t know who we are outside of school, outside of someone shoving standardized tests down our throats, or professors lecturing us on the importance of being open minded (only when it applies to the carefully graded rubric.) You and I might have seen glimpses of ourselves. On those late nights with friends when you laughed so hard your abs hurt, or at concerts when you literally felt the beat of the music pounding in your chests, showing you what it meant to be alive. You have felt what life is like through moments like these when all the problems seemed small and life felt infinite. You have seen glimpses of who you can be, and I challenge you this year to be it.

Your senior year is your curtain call, your end credits, the place where you finally thank mom and dad for everything they have done, and you tell them how excited you are to be moving back in. This year, your first year as an upperclassman and the first day of the rest of your adult life, this is your year. This isn’t the year of student loans to be repaid, or the bills that have been piling high, no this is the year, the last year, to put that in the back of your mind. In the words of the great Canadian philosopher, Drake, “You already know though. You only live once-- that’s the motto / YOLO. And we ‘bout it every day, every day, every day.”

Guys, consider this your YOLO year. Of course, be smart and be safe, but more than anything, try to live an incredible day every day. We are put on this Earth for more than just trudging towards a degree, and this is your year to prove that. Most of us have been alive and breathing now for nearly two decades, and I think it’s about time we start to actually live a little.

This is your last year to live for you, and not for anyone else. Make it a good one.