Are you a struggling senior who is ready for the infamous graduation? The biggest day of your life. The day you walk down the isle, shake your instructors hand, and receive your diploma. Are you a senior that anxiously counts down the days and fails to get out of bed during early mornings? Do you ever get discouraged by your peers who test higher than you, so your esteem becomes weakened. You're asking yourself why do I try, when I have already failed? So, you put down your books and a depressive state enters your mind. You give up on your school work and sleep throughout your classes. I'm a senior, you tell yourself, I have already made it. The truth is you haven't made it. It is only the beginning to the end and this is why.

Senior year only happens once. Yes, I know you have heard this many times. You have also heard the saying, "Enjoy it while it lasts because it does not last long." I wish i would have listened to those who told me all the things i would need to know. At the beginning of my senior year, and my last first day, I had a major case of senioritis. I became less motivated to better myself which led to scoring low B's and low on my ACT. You may be reading this and think a B is actually an okay grade, but for me a B could cost my GPA to drop lower and take away many opportunities for myself. I was terrified because i did not care. My senioritis increased and I decided Netflix and YouTube was more important than studying to get better grades.

This all changed for me the day I took my ACT for the third time. I went into my testing room anxious and stressed. I knew I was going to do poorly considering I was not prepared and my nerves were ecstatic. My test results were unacceptable. I became paranoid and started to find ways to increase my scoring not only on my ACT, but in my school work. My senioritis was cured as I started to realize the time I was taking for granted.

High school no longer seemed like a burden. In fact, the breaks and days we had off I found myself wishing to go back. My peers and classmates i communicate and socialize with every day, will no longer be in contact with me after high school. I started to realize the day the diploma becomes my own; my life starts and my childhood ends. I realized I had to grow up and no matter how scary it feels; I was not prepared. I took high school for granted. All the years I spent wishing and waiting, I should have been taking them seriously and studying. The thought of growing up and being on my own sounded amazing; before I knew what taxes, jobs, politics, and even every day activities like cooking, really was. This terrified me. At school my teachers were helpful and at home my mom was a superhero, and still is. She has done everything for me and so have my teachers. Not in anyway have I ever been accustomed to being on my own.

I had no idea what i wanted to be. I went through many occupations such as: being a lawyer, psychology, writing, and dentistry. I think I have finally found my calling but i will be patient for what God has planned for me in the end. I wish i would have known that senioritis is only a form of imagination to those who do not try hard enough. If you try, you will never be put in the position of wanting to fail. To all the high school freshman, sophomores, and juniors: take this advice, and do not take the time you have left for granted. Suddenly, you will be in your last semester of senior year wishing you could have changed your perspective and go back to the grade you were once desperately ready to escape. To all the junior high students who are dreading high school: enjoy your years wisely and study to become something great one day. High school has impacted my life widely and now I will let go of a chapter and continue to write a new one.