Through your entire career in school, this is the final mark you have been waiting to reach. You are now a senior in high school. If you are anything like me, you couldn’t wait for this day to come. When the hours would drag in classes you hated, you couldn’t help but think, “I can’t wait to graduate,” but I’m here to tell you this: Slow down.

As your last first day approaches, you can’t wait for it to be over. But please, enjoy it. Don’t wish this year away because you will be spending years after that wishing it back. Soon, this will no longer be your “normal.” You will be away from the school you have known for four years. You will be away from your family and your closest friends. When I say it goes by in a blink of an eye, I mean it.

Approaching this year comes with a lot of lasts. Even though it is your last and it is bittersweet, soak it in. Feel the moments as they come, take a deep breath and really feel every moment. Soon will come your last homecoming, your last football game. So take advantage and go to the homecoming pep rally and compete in the silly games. Soon will be your last sports practice. You hear them day in and day out picking at you, even at the small stuff, and it gets on your nerves. You should know that they don’t pick at you to be annoying or because they don’t like you. Odds are, they pick at you because they like you and they want you to be the best athlete you can be, and after you graduate, you won’t find that kind of support just anywhere. Make so many memories this year and make them count. If you’re too tired to go to that basketball game, or if you’re too cool to go to prom, get up and do it all anyway! If you don’t, you’ll regret you hadn’t. Take lots of photos and make every moment one worth remembering.

You’re going to be excited to graduate and that’s OK. You’re also going to cry because you’re graduating and that’s OK, too. Everything you feel is normal, and I guarantee your peers are feeling it, too, even if they are too cool to show it.

If there’s anything you do, don’t wish this year away. Take it in strides and allow time to pass naturally. Don’t let stupid things bog down your days or ruin your last year. Go to the sporting events, go to the seemingly silly school events and have fun. Make a lot of memories and take a lot of pictures while you’re doing it. These days will not last forever. Before you know it, you’ll be hearing your name from across the stage to receive your diploma and it will all be over.

Sincerely,