Dear Class of 2018 Seniors,

I remember that around this time last year, it began to finally sink in that I was just about done with high school. I was going to college, I was going to leave my family and friends behind for a whole new world, and life as I knew it was going to change. It horrified me, but it excited me all at once.

First, congratulations on making it this far- a lot of people don't, and you should feel proud of yourselves for working hard. You may be trying to get a job, go into the military, or you're about to commit to your dream school- whatever it may be, congrats. You've done a great job and life is waiting for you. High school is almost done for you, and you are no longer required to go to school after you graduate, and that's crazy, right? But that leads me to one message I'd like to relay to you all:

If you love high school, enjoy your last few months to the fullest. If you don't like high school, don't feel like you have to "live it up" or like it for the remainder of your time there, either.

During March of my senior year, my family began to ask me about whether or not I was ready to graduate. I certainly was, and me, being someone who didn't like high school in the slightest, was ready to go and start a new chapter in my life.

I, however, was guilt-tripped by some friends, family, and even online articles that made me feel like I had to enjoy high school and get super-involved for the last few months.

"High school will be the best years of your life," "You have so much fun in high school, never again afterward," "Stop being so morbid, high school is great; I'd give anything to be back there!"

I heard ALL of it too, from people around me. Even online, countless articles say, "live it up because you'll miss high school one day." This made me feel so bad about the fact that I just didn't have a good high school experience. I felt shamed into getting more involved (which, in turn, made the bullying I faced much worse) because I would "miss" this place eventually.

Now that I'm a year into college, I can say that I haven't missed high school once, and I don't think I'll ever miss a place that I never even liked in the first place. If you loved high school, you'll probably look back at it fondly and may miss it. If you didn't, then you probably won't, and don't let articles online tell you that you will. You can only miss something if it had a pleasant meaning to you.

So, Class of 2018, live up these last few months of school if you want to. If you want to go to every sporting event, join a ton of clubs, or just have an amazing prom, then do it! If you've had a bad high school experience, and you just wanna kick back and ride out these last few months, then do it!

Regardless of where you stand, don't let others influence these last important months of your secondary education. Decide for yourself what you want to do- don't be shamed into doing too little or too much. You have the world waiting for you, and your life has only just begun- look on to the bright future

-From a member of the Class of 2017

P.S. Congratulations for being awesome!