I woke up on Wednesday dreading the fact that my phone's clock read 6:15 a.m. I don't think I had woken up that early all summer. But, it was my last first day of school. My first day as a senior. My first day as the so called "rulers" of the school. My mom took a picture of me in my school uniform before I got in my car and drove to school to find my senior parking spot. I felt pretty normal all day. I wasn't thrilled about being back at school, but I think everyone, regardless of grade level, was feeling the same exact way. The second day of school arrived and I used more of my senior privileges. I cut everyone else in the student store line, which was something I had been waiting three years to do, and all the underclassman seemed to magically move out of my way in the hallways. I still felt pretty normal at the end of the day. It was not until Friday that reality set in.

On Friday morning I put on my senior shirt for the first time. An all black T-shirt, with the word "senior" on the front, my last name and the number 17 representing my graduation year on the back. I was up early that day, trying to get to the beach on time. My school has a tradition called "senior sunrise", where on the first Friday of the school year, the entire senior class meets on the beach to have breakfast together. As we were all standing in the sand, my friends and I all realized that we were finally the ones wearing the intimidating black T-shirts, while also wondering how three years had already gone by so quickly. It sounds cheesy, and trust me, it was, but it sent a feeling of camaraderie through all of us. That morning I realized what was upon all of us. We were all about to start a year full of difficult decisions and nervous days, but most importantly we were about to enter a year to find ourselves and have an amazing time. And, we were entering this year all together, as a team. As we watched the sun rise, we metaphorically watched the commencement of this important year.

Now that I can officially say that I am a senior, I am looking forward to everything that this year brings to me. While I know it will be stressful at times, I also know that I have the most amazing friends to help me through it. Many of us will know where we will be going to college in just a few short months, and I can't believe that time has gone by that fast. Senior sunrise was just a few days ago, but I know graduation day will be here before any of us realize it, so let us enjoy every day that this year brings us. Here's to the SENIOR class of 2017!