To the college senior:
I can't believe that I have already started my senior year of college. What a whirlwind the past four years have been. From changing my major . . . twice, to being able to graduate with two degrees this spring, is pretty amazing. I fell in love, got my heartbroken, joined a sorority, and found amazing friends.
And I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Attending a small college, in the middle of nowhere, allowed me to travel. By the time I graduate, I will have been to five different countries. But as we enter our last year, we need to keep some things in mind.
1. Take the chances you've been to scared to take.
This is it. Your last year. Soon, you'll be on your way to grad school or a job. Those day trips you wanted to take, the classes you wanted to explore, the parties you never went to? Do that. Take the chance, go to that party, skip a class, go to a concert.
2. Stop and smell the roses.
All of the work you have between applying to schools or looking for jobs and your senior capstones? Put it aside for a day and spend it with your friends. Go take a spa day. Go treat yourself. Don't allow yourself to put you behind everything else.
3. Senior year will be full of many lasts.
Don't forget about those traditions you have with your friends.
4. Senioritis is a real thing. Don't let it affect your GPA.
It's okay to procrastinate, but don't lose your motivation. You have more to do in your senior year than you have any other year in school. Between applying for grad schools, jobs, and trying to complete your capstone, you'll be busier than ever this year. Set goals for yourself and make sure you complete your capstone.
5. Spend as much time as you can with your friends.
Speaking of a year full of lasts, spend the most time you can with your friends, especially towards the end of the year. You probably won't see your friends for awhile once you graduate, and it's important that you make wonderful memories while you still can. College is truly the best four years of your life. You're an adult but still a kid with more responsibilities than in high school, yet less than those who are working full time. Enjoy being a kid while you still can because before you know it, you'll blink and be walking across the stage at graduation.
6. It's totally okay if you still don't know what you want to do.
We're seniors. Some of us still don't know what we want to do when we graduate. That's TOTALLY OKAY. Most of us are 21, 22, or 23 years old. Not everyone's life is clearly cut out in a path and we have to figure out where we want to go from here. We'll manage, even if it takes a few years.
