Dear Second Semester High School Seniors,

Congratulations! You've made it through the majority of your high school career, and all that's left is a few short months. You've probably started to zone out all of your teachers, and trust me, the senioritis only gets worse from here. I was in your shoes a few short months ago and I remember it all too well- the excitement for everything from prom to graduation, the anticipation to finish the year, and most importantly, college acceptance letters.

I was one of the people lucky enough to get into my dream school. I fell in love with Villanova as a freshman before I even knew if I had a shot at getting in, and I spent all of my high school career working to be good enough for colleges to like me. I made some of the greatest memories I'll ever have in high school, but if I could give you one piece of advice, stop worrying so much about "whether it will look good on a college application." Don't rush into college. It is a fantastic time in your life, but so is this. Enjoy it while you can, because it will be gone before you know it.

Make sure you say your thank you's before you leave. Thank your teachers, thank your faculty, thank the lunch lady who always let you get a free cookie. You don't realize how much they have impacted your life, and you probably won't until they are long gone. For the past four years, these people have put their heart and soul into making sure that you had all of the tools that you needed to succeed. Sure, you might have hated that chemistry teacher who always gave you too much homework or that English teacher who edited the life out of your essays, but even the people who drove you crazy have played a part in your success.

Don't skip out on anything. I know that prom might seem super cheesy and you don't feel like going to graduation parties every single weekend, but those will be some of your best memories. Enjoy the last time that you get to get dressed up and take goofy pictures with your best friends (they'll be hanging up in your dorm room next year), decorate your graduation cap with your favorite saying, and appreciate all of your "lasts." They're called lasts for a reason, after all.

Finally, make time for the people you care about. Go out to lunch with your parents, call up a friend you haven't seen in a while, and make sure your siblings know how much you love them. It's true that the ones you love will always be a phone call away, but often times the craziness of life makes phone calls more difficult than they seem. Enjoy these people while they are here, because before you know it you and your best friend will be counting down the days until Christmas break when you can reunite. I wouldn't trade my new college friends for the world, but I only wish I had cherished the immense amount of time that I got to spend with my best friends from high school while I was still there.

Sincerely,

A College Freshman Who Has Been There