A Letter to High School Seniors
From Kaleigh Mincer, Campus Rep and High School Senior
As my senior year slowly closes, reality hit me that I just finished the second to last semester of my entire high school career. As a senior, all that can go through your head is one saying, countless times throughout the year: ‘’You’re almost done.” You are inches away from the finish line. Last first day of school, last homecoming, last Christmas Break as a high school student, Spring break, senior trip, graduation, and you’re done forever! The real world is so close and so many emotions are going through our heads as this semester unfolds.
You hated waking up at 6:30 every Monday through Friday, week after week for four years. You had a countdown for graduation set on your phone from the very moment the school calendar was released, but you also didn’t realize how much these moments would affect you in the grand scheme of things. Although graduation is only four months away, the reality is that us seniors are nowhere near done. As May approaches, now is not the time to give up. Do not quit trying on your homework, continue taking notes in class, and do not let the very real senioritis take over your life.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve had senioritis since your first day of freshman year, and I guarantee you will regret giving up this close to the finish line. This final semester of senior year is when everything becomes a very scary, reality. I expected senior year to be smooth sailing, and slack-worthy until May 20thwhen I receive my diploma, but instead, I was faced with new challenges; scholarship deadlines, housing contract deadlines, college visits, raising my SAT score, figuring out what I want to do with my life, financial aid essays, AP exam registrations, ordering my cap and gown, finding the payments for my senior trip, working harder than I’ve ever worked in order to have money for freshman year, sorority recruitment planning, senior activities at school, sending out graduation announcements, and tough decision making each and every day. I know, I know. It sounds scary – maybe even impossible – but don’t worry, there will be a whole lot that you have to take care of this semester, but the good news is, once you get through it, you’re on to the greatest four years of your entire life and you’ll never be faced with another high school problem again!
My advice to upcoming seniors is take it one step at a time, and do not procrastinate. Try to fill out your college applications and scholarship applications early. Make a list of all the deadlines you can’t afford to miss. Make sure you don’t miss any college deadlines (housing, roommate requests, enrollment, etc.)! If you take senior year day by day and make sure you stay on top of your college stuff, you’ll be able to get everything done and not have done anything late, which is a huge relief. I understand that finding the perfect prom dress or texting your friends about your beach trip this weekend is more fun, but if you put that before signing up for a dorm or applying for a scholarship, you could end up being in the worst dorm on campus, unable to afford a meal and trust me when I tell you that six months after that school dance, nobody will remember what dress you wore.
Senior year, thus far, should have been one of the best years of your life. Cherish every moment with your friends, take group photos, go on a spontaneous adventure, and tell your family you love them as much as possible. You may have an idea what is coming next but I promise doing everything right during your senior year is so crucial to your success in college.