Dear Senior,

You’ve made it this far and now you are at the beginning of the end. When you walk through the doors on your first day of senior year, take it all in. You’ve walked through these doors every year for the past three years and now you only have 180 days left. 180 days to leave your mark. 180 days to soak it all in. Some of you may rejoice in the fact that there are only 180 more days left until you can leave. Others may feel a sort of remorse nagging at the back of your mind. Whatever you may feel, just remember that you can only do senior year once.

Soak it all in. Any person who has been through senior year will tell you how quickly those 180 days pass. It’s almost as if you blink and you’re walking across that stage to receive your diploma. Half of the time you’re sitting in class, you’ll feel as though it’s futile to even be there. You may even feel as though you don’t need to even be there. While that may be true, sit in that class. Listen to what your teacher has to say. You never know when they may digress and say something that will stick with you far past graduation.

Attend every sporting event. Go to each game you can - football, basketball, baseball, soccer - whatever game you can get to, go. Go all out. Dress in your school’s colors, cheer your classmates along. You only get to be a highschool student for long. Soon enough, new students will take your friends’ numbers on the field or court,

Study hard. Senioritis is real. And it will hit you hard and fast. Try to remain focused for as long as you can, at least through first semester. Believe it or not colleges still look at first semester grades. Get your ACT/SAT test done as quickly as possible. Senior year is so busy and you’ll want to participate in everything you can, but you can’t necessarily do that if you haven’t finished studying for your standardized tests.

Don’t blow off your best friend. If your best friend calls you up to go grab ice cream, don’t blow them off. Laugh and think back through all the ups and downs you have been through together. Go out and enjoy the last couple of months you have with them. Soon enough you may be on completely different paths in life. Or on different sides of the country. You may grow apart, but you will always have the memories you've made with them. Make sure to make them while you still can.

Say thank you to everyone who has helped you. Whether that be your kindergarten bus driver or your college counselor who wrote your letter of recommendation, hundreds of people helped mold you into who you are today. Hundreds of people helped you get to where you are today. No act of kindness, no matter how small, deserves to go without a thanks. Make sure you express gratitude to everyone who helped you get to where you are right now.

Tell your mom you love her. I know she can be annoying and overbearing, but within all honesty, she just wants the best for you. She has spent years molding you into who you are. She’s cried many tears over you, she’s worried about you, she’s hoped and dreamed for you. Go easy on her and tell her you love her. She only wants the best for you.

It’s never too late to do the right thing. You may have messed up freshman year and believe it’s too late to right your wrongs. It’s never too late. If you have done something you regret, make it right before you graduate. Not only will you get a truly clean slate once you graduate, but your conscience will also be clean.

Learn to live on your own. Soon enough you will be on your own without your mom to do your laundry or cook your meals. It is so important to learn how to survive on your own before you actually are out on your own.

The day will come where you must walk away from your locker for the very last time. You will sit in the cafeteria surrounded by the people who have known you since you were in kindergarten. You’ll walk across the stage at graduation and receive a piece of paper you’ve worked for four years to receive. Soon enough you’ll be packing up 18 years of your life into the back of a car. You’ll drive off to your new home and find yourself sitting in your dorm room surrounded by new people. I know you are beyond ready to leave, and that day will come soon enough. But for now, enjoy where you are in life. You only get to do it once and once it’s over, it’s gone. So, before you walk through those doors, don’t forget to breathe it all in.

Love,