Dear High School Seniors,

Well, congratulations. The past 12 years of school all come down to the next few months — scary isn’t it? You work for 12 years and one application determines it all.

As your last semester in high school continues, here are some things to keep in mind.

On Home:

I wish I knew how much I was going to miss my hometown. It sounds cliché but when you leave for college you change and that changes everything around you. The places you would frequent in high school become distant memories and they don’t seem that important when you come home anymore. And it’s not just your opinion on the places that change, it’s your opinion on people that change too.

Someone you thought would your best friend for life, becomes a friend that you see once a year and give a big hug to. And that’s ok. When you go to college you grow up and grown up college you is NOT high school you.

On School:

You have a couple months left, my advice? Eat as many home cooked meals as possible — just kidding (but not really)! Although you have made it this far in school it does not mean you should completely give up and fail your second semester. Spoiler alert: colleges look at second semester too. Now I’m not saying you need to get a 4.0 but just don’t fail any or all of your classes. Graduate with some dignity people! On the note of school, you should also make sure you take any and all AP tests you can. Believe it or not kicking ass on these tests can give you a HUGE advantage in college and the ability to not have to worry about finishing up your core curriculum as much as everybody else.

On Friends:

This will be one of the last times that all of your friends will be in the same place. I know you all say you will meet up over the breaks but life gets away from you. It can take days to plan hang out sessions and then those moments are gone in an instant. When you get older you have to get internships and work you don’t have as much time for each other as you wish you did. So embrace the time you have with your hometown friends because I can tell you as soon as you leave for college at the end of the summer, it will never be the same.

On Family:

I told everybody that I wouldn't miss my brothers - but I do. They are some of my best friends and biggest supporters and I don't know what I would do without them. I miss them - not every day, but at least once every week. And it’s not just your siblings that you’ll miss, but your parents and grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles – even if you don’t see them often you will probably be missing some family get together's and that will make you miss them all (it’s weird I can’t explain it). To be perfectly honest, the dining hall food sucks so hug whoever does the cooking in your house because that's the best thing you will be eating for the next few months.

On The Future:

The day I was set to leave for college my freshman year, I thought I was ready. I thought I was going to be able to pack up my room, say goodbye to my friends, kiss my dad goodbye and give my beloved pugs a final ear scratch and walk out the door with no problem. That wasn't the case at all. I am not an emotional person but I bawled my eyes out when I packed up my room, when I said goodbye to my friends, and when I kissed my dad goodbye, and when it came time to give my pugs that final ear scratch, I couldn't do it. The day I left for college I was an emotional wreck, but it was all worth it. Now I can’t imagine my life without my college friends, my sorority sisters and my hockey teammates. I can’t image my life without the bad dining hall food and the horrible frat parties that, for some reason, we all love. I can’t imagine my life without being at Syracuse.

Seniors, here is my last piece of advice: get ready for your world to change. At first, it’ll be a slow change, and then it will happen all at once. And then one day you will find yourself calling your college "home", and that will freak you out.