I stumbled upon my memory box from my senior year the other day. In a nostalgic mood, I thought back to the start of my senior year. I remember two things in particular. The first being how I carried my lunch in a "Tangled" lunchbox. The second being how much I dreaded going back to school. Going back to high school meant many things, including (but not limited to) AP classes, the idea of graduation and impending adulthood, seeing people I had avoided all summer, and petty, high school drama. While I dreaded it, I had a fantastic senior year. Considering I had a Rapunzel lunch box senior year, I am not sure how qualified I am at giving any amount of advice. However, here are the things I wish I knew at 17.

Senior year stresses out everyone. Be kind. Don’t judge if someone is taking a gap year or doing a few years at the community college. When your best friend gets rejected from her dream school, let her cry. When results come out, don’t brag. Offer to read through essays. For the love of everything good, don’t say “you look tired” when you can tell someone had an all-nighter. Stand with your fellow seniors.

Just because it’s senior year, don’t close yourself off from new friendships. I made my best friend in a girl I had known for years in my senior English class. People become a lot more authentic their senior year. Take advantage of it.

Get off your high horse and talk to freshmen. They have such beautiful perspectives in life. Their innocence and eagerness is refreshing in a world of senior-year cynicism.

Lastly, you might not cry. And that’s okay.

After watching three classes of graduates before me, I expect to be bawling at every single "last" of high school. My last opening night, last choir concert, my last Thespian award show. However, the opposite occurred. I rarely cried. While my friends around me sobbed, I sat rather stone-faced, wondering what was wrong with me. Why I wasn't crying? It was later that I realized that I just dealt with emotion differently than my peers. Senior year is not a competition to see who can cry the most at every "last". You’re not cold-hearted or cynical if you don’t tear up at your senior night for basketball. You just express emotion differently.

The fact of the matter is that life is about to change drastically in a year. Enjoy this year to it's absolute fullest. However, this is not the end all, be all. Two years after my graduation, I do not remember my SAT scores, let alone the scores of others. I remember the memories I made. Take a breath, find your favorite coffee shop, and crank out those applications. Only nine months stand between you and the endless chips and dip of graduation party season.

Love, the girl with the Rapunzel lunchbox