Around this time of year, each high school has a graduating class itching to get out of their chairs; each student is counting off the “last” aspects of high school they have to endure.

Seniors: you may have thought lightly about your last homecoming football game, your last winter formal, until you got to your last pep assembly; before you know it, it is going to be the last day of school. You are going to start thinking, "everything is going to change."

Nostalgia may be a common feeling, but it seems as though it is merely a side effect to a mysterious disease called “Senioritis,” present in high school, only seeming to plague those who are close to walking across the stage in a cap and gown.

One year ago, I was exactly where you are now. I was finishing up my last semester of high school, planning to attend an out-of-state university; all my friends were moving away the same time as me, or going to attend university in our hometown.

Think about it, seniors: you will never be in high school again. In a few months, you will be saying, “When I was in high school…” Trust me, that will feel weird the first couple (hundred) times. You want to make the best of the summer before you begin your post-high school life.

My close friends and I were determined to make that summer a great one. We attempted to stretch out our days; day turned into night, our “good-byes” were often said in the early hours of the morning. Since I was leaving home, I had a list of everything I wanted to see and experience before I moved. Boy, was it one fabulous summer. But, it was also a sad summer.

The whole summer, I was worried. I was worried that once my friends and I started college, EVERYTHING was going to change. Isn’t that said in every movie with a graduation? People move away, you become distant from your friends. People change their plans, and you may not cross paths with people for years. Acknowledging the changes that were about to occur made it all the more important to have a great summer.

Everything I felt can be summed up with one word: fear. Fear of leaving home, of moving away from my friends, of not succeeding; fear of change. Now that I have completed my freshman year of college, paired with the fact my sister is graduating high school, I have had time and incentive to reflect on the past 12 months.

I wish someone had told me that not everything has to change when you graduate. Your family is still there for you, and so are your friends. If you go out of town for university, you will always be able to go home. You can go visit your teachers, see old friends, and visit all the places that you loved to go to before college. You are in a different academic setting, and you will meet some new people. For those of you staying in town for school, your feelings may be a little different, but the common denominator is that everyone is ecstatic when the college students come home.

This summer, when you’re freaking out over how little time you have left at home, and feeling sad that you are leaving your closest friends, remember that this next year can go exactly how YOU want it to. If you don’t want to lose your friends, work to keep in touch. If you find yourself missing certain aspect of home, make those a priority when you get back into town. You are in control, because walking across that stage enters you into whatever life you want for yourself.