I'm about to finish my senior year. *cue screaming* The past four years have been filled with a lot of love, laughter, and happiness, but I've also learned a lot about myself, life, and the people in it. These are just a few of the many lessons that I've learned from freshman year onward, and I wish I had known many of them sooner.

1. You won't have the same group of friends all four years of high school.

For better or for worse, you will have totally different groups of friends as a senior than you will as a freshman. While I have some people that are my closest friends who I've known since day one (I'M LOOKING AT YOU KIERAN AND CAROLINE), you will inevitably drift from some people and get closer to others. I have only known some of my best friends/favorite people for a year or less (I love you Daniel), since you're always meeting new underclassmen, transfer students, and people who you might not have had classes with before. You won't be able to see ahead and know who will be in your life throughout the next four years, but that's part of the fun.

2. "People will treat you how you allow them to treat you."

My favorite teacher of all time told me this on a day when I was really upset with my friends, boyfriend at the time, and everyone else in my life, and I've repeated it thousands of times since. I'm not saying that you can control how a person will treat you, or that being treated badly is your fault in the slightest, but I do believe that we all can choose to accept love and kindness over toxicity. You're not a bad person if you cut someone out of your life, or tell someone that you don't like what they're doing. You have to make yourself happy and understand what you deserve.

3. Your well being comes first.

School is not more important than your mental health. School is not more important than your happiness. School takes the backseat to you and what you need in life. If you find yourself eating takeout food in the shower during finals week because you're sleep deprived and hungry, or you're crying over an ACT score, this isn't how things should be. School is important, but in a few years, or even a few days, weeks, or months, it won't matter; the only thing you have for your entire life is you, and your happiness is vital.

4. Things that seem important now won't matter in the long run.

My teacher (always full of wise words!) always asks me, "Will this matter in a few days? A few weeks? A few months? A few years? Then it's probably not that important." I use this to evaluate the things that I value in life as well as the things that I get upset about. No one is going to care what your grade in AP Literature is once you graduate high school. No one is going to remember who subtweeted you during a petty fight. The fact of the matter is that very few things that you're upset, stressed, or worried about right now will matter in the long run, let alone a few weeks.

5. Parents don't always know what's best for you.

Right off the bat, let me say that I love my parents very much, and I'm not just saying that because I know they'll read this eventually. Your parents love you, want what's best for you, and want you to be happy, but they might not know the right way to express this. Ultimately, you are your own person, and even your parents have limits on what they know and understand about you.

6. You can't control how other people will behave.

"People are hella bitchy" -Lucy Peterson

Throughout high school, people will do things that you won't agree with, things that might seem dangerous, petty, or just plain dumb. As much as you would like to wish that everyone would make sensible decisions, behave the same way that you do, or treat you perfectly, they won't. You can't control what people will say, do, or write, you just have to decide how you will react in response (see #2 on this list!).

7. Make decisions so that you won't have regrets in the future.

There will be times when you'd rather stay in bed than go to a school basketball game. You'll want to binge watch Stranger Things instead of meeting your friends for ice cream. Eventually, you'll have to decide to have fun, go to events, and be around your friends over doing what seems easy, comfortable, or what you want in the moment. When you're older, you won't remember the time you watched a random episode of Parks and Recreation, you'll remember when you went to IHOP until 1 a.m. after Homecoming, when you got Slurpees late at night and watched Youtube videos with one of your best friends, or the New Years Eve you spent laughing about memes with your mom. You've gotta make memories while you can, so that you won't look back on high school and wish that you would've done things differently.