What a strange sensation it is to feel time speeding up the older you get to be. When you’re 15, walking through those high school doors, you feel time stop. When you’re young, you don’t think about the future too much because you’re so consumed with the present. You know someday you’ll be one of those big, bad seniors, preparing for university, but right now you’re afraid, alone and awkward. Next thing you know, you’re a sophomore. You have your clique of friends and even join a sports team. It doesn’t truly sink in yet, but you’ve formed a bond with these people. Time stands still and you almost feel like life will never change. Junior year rolls around and by this point, you can already feel the senioritis already kicking in. Nevertheless, you’re excited for prom and to finally have obtained the status of ‘upperclassmen’. By the time you become a senior, you just can’t wait to get out of that high school and never look back. The days feel as though they drag on and on, however you finally did it. You can’t help but look at the freshmen and laugh because that was once you. All their weird habits and nervous looks remind you of yourself only a few short years ago.

In the wise words of C.S. Lewis, “Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different.” Suddenly you’re walking across the field for senior night, the lights are shining in your eyes, time stops and it hits you; soon enough high school will be a distant memory. Pretty soon you’re going to be consumed with college work and focusing on what the next step is. Life suddenly speeds up because your days are eventually spent meeting deadlines, working towards a degree and trying to be an adult.

So my advice to anyone in their senior year right now is to cherish these days. It may feel like a lifetime right now, but before you know it, you’ll be walking across that stage, receiving your diploma and beginning an entirely different journey. Your group of friends will disperse across the country, finding their new niche and embarking on the next chapter in their life. The life you knew and lived for the past four years suddenly ends and no matter how much you longed for that day to come, you’ll miss it when it’s all said and done. So don’t skip out on an opportunity to go to your high school football games or to attend your last homecoming. The faces you knew for these four years won’t be around much longer. And that’s not to say your college experience won’t be amazing, but it will definitely take some getting used to; after all you dedicated four years of your life to this high school. So my advice to you is; if you’re getting ready to wrap up this chapter in your life, make sure it’s a good one.