Senior year is finally here. You can already see yourself walking down the aisle at graduation and receiving your diploma, even though it's just the first week of school. With senior year come college applications, dances, football games, but how can you make sure your year is memorable?
1. Invite someone new to your table.
There's always going to be that one person who sits alone at lunch. Invite them to your group and finally get to know them! Who knows, they could end up being your new best friend. It feels great giving people chances because you know you've done a good deed, and just knowing that you made someone's day just makes everyone's day a little brighter.
2. Start participating.
One of the best parts of high school is the extracurriculars. It gives you the chance to explore your horizons, your likes and your dislikes. Extracurriculars help you make memories and friends that last a lifetime. Going home when the bell rings just makes you wonder what happens after. Join the drama club, write for your school newspaper, become a cheerleader. Go to some football games or see the spring musical! Show your school spirit before you flip your tassel!
3. Burst your bubbles. Yes, even that one!
I know that I tend to trap myself in bubbles. I don't like change, and I refuse to talk to someone if they don't talk to me first. But why? Why can't we all take that first step and reset our mindset? Being comfortable only makes us lazy. Start talking to those you've never spoken to before; get to know others. Life is going to bring you chances to do everything you want, but good things happen only if you push for them. Life only begins if you let it.
4. Do the Senior Year Photo Challenge.
Every day may not be a good one, but there's something good in every day. Capture something that made your school day and post it on social media daily. Tag it under #senioryearphotochallenge. By the time senior year ends, you can look back and remember every day as if it were yesterday. Make a scrapbook, write a story, a song, do something to make the memories last! We have time machines, they're called pictures, art and writing.
5. Change your studying habits.
When college comes along, none of us are going to have the leeway we do now. Start studying little by little everyday. Make sure you fully comprehend the lesson. We can begin new habits now so that we don't struggle in college. Life is about balance, so let's begin balancing.
6. Become more aware of your surroundings.
Try discovering new things about your town and doing new things. We all want to go away and grow, but before we do any of that, we need to love our hometown first. Go to the town fair, visit the museums, do things you've never done before. You only have one home town; try to represent it before it's too late.
7. Go on a retreat.
Retreats help you get in touch with your inner self. They make sure you know you and your faith before anything else. Everything you learn could be applied to the real world in order to help you gain the experience you want. Take it a step further, lead a retreat! There's more to be learned from that experience because you know you can positively impact people, and you feel yourself growing even more because of the lessons learned.
8. Make a playlist dedicated to senior year.
Pick any songs you want. For me, I'd choose any song from High School Musical 3 and "Beautiful" from Heathers the Musical. Listen to it whenever something big comes up, like prom or homecoming. It's cheesy, but it pumps you up. It makes you mindful that you get to live your life the way you want to, and it makes you happy to be a senior.
9. Get more active in the community.
Visit a homeless shelter, raise money for those in need, start a nonprofit. Don't do it because it would look great on college applications, but rather try to do it as your first step toward making a difference in the real world. The world as we know it is a mess, but if we start putting good in it, it won't be that bad.
10. Find your faith.
Whatever religion you may associate with, it is a faith. Your faith is what keeps you rooted and helps you flourish. Faith is what makes a difference in the world; faith motivates us. Faith is what will make senior year and everything after that the best it could be. Go to church, a synagogue, a temple, it doesn't matter. Take the lessons you learn from there and insert them into your daily life. Make the best out of life with faith.
11. Never be afraid to be yourself.
This world has too many clones. What we need, especially in high school, is someone genuine. Don't let those weird looks stop you from being you. Wear a new scarf to school everyday or Harry Potter glasses. Come decked out in Star Wars paraphernalia, it does not matter. You only need three approvals in this world: your creators (God and your mom) and you. Learn to love yourself and forget what everyone thinks because you are genuine.
I've never focused on the present. I've always been focused on preparing myself for college and life, but I've never actually lived it. Now that I'm a senior, I want to prepare myself for anything that comes my way and grow. I don't want to keep trapping myself in that bubble or worrying what might be, and I don't want you guys to do it either. There's no day but today so let's start living it with no regrets. Senior year is supposed to be the year we remember the most. We may have been floating by for three years, but let's make this last one count.
Song suggestions for senior year (or life in general):
"Beautiful" — Heathers: the Musical
Anything from High School Musical 3: Senior Year
"We Go Together" — Grease
"(Don't You) Forget About Me" — Simple Minds
"Golden Years" — David Bowie
