Dear High School Seniors,

It is crazy to me that one year ago, I was in your shoes — one month left of high school and graduation right around the corner. I remember how badly I wanted to get out, how badly I wanted to leave, I remember counting down the days until I was finally free. I can still remember these feelings and moments like they were yesterday, but the truth is a year has gone by and everything has changed and there's so many things I want you to know, so here me out.

I know you think you are a big bad senior and you hate high school and everyone in it. But this last month, put your ego behind you and try to enjoy it. Never again after you walk out those doors for the last time will you eat lunch with your childhood friends, will you win a high school sports game, or spend study hall hanging out with your favorite teacher. Once it's over, it's over, and there's no turning back. Of course, I know you're excited for the future, and there are so many new and exciting things to look forward to, but don't forget what got you there.

Don't forget about the nights you spent cheering on the football team or the hours you spent getting ready for school dances. Remember the people who stood by your side and grew along with you over the last four years, and maybe some even longer. You don't realize in the moment that your senior year is filled with lasts. You eat your last lunch, play your last game, take your last test, close your locker for the last time. And you are filled with excitement because you know you are one step closer to that promising end goal of graduation. But take it from someone who looks back at it now, those moments are something to be cherished. Do I find myself wishing I was back in high school? No, not at all. But I do get a bit nostalgic and often wish that I did not spend so much time hating high school and wanting to leave, because looking back I had a pretty damn good time.

Cherish every single last moment, make the most of the short amount of time you have left. Hangout with your friends and tell them you love them, because no matter how close you are I promise you that once you all go your separate ways your times together will slowly dwindle down. You'll stay in touch and meet up over breaks and say how much you miss each other, but it won't be the same. You won't be able to drive to your best friends house and eat Ben and Jerry's ice cream, you won't have any more team dinners or sleepovers, you won't get to sit around a table for half an hour every day and talk about everything under the sun. The people you spent a huge chunk of your life with will no longer be in your life every single day. I know you may be sick of them, I know you are dying so badly to get our of your little town with the same old people, but sometimes in college you'd give anything to see a few familiar faces. Whether you want to admit it or not your graduating class was a huge part of your life, and some people you will literally never see again after you cross that stage. Enjoy the time you have left with these people because it'll all be over before you know it.

High school is where everything happens for the first time. The heartache, the happiness, the good times, the bad times. The achievements and the hardships you've experienced have shaped you into the person you are today. I know it's cliche, but you're only young once. You're as young right now as you're ever going to be again. Your whole life you've always counted on the fact that you will have more time, never thinking the clock would run out. But here you are, with merely weeks left of a whole chapter of your life. That's the problem with time, you spend so much of it wishing it away, and then in the blink of an eye it's gone. To quote the great Dr. Seuss, "How did it get so late so soon?"

This is it. You don't realize it in the moment, but looking back it is all so crystal clear. So many times that we all take for granted, just because we were promised we would have a million more, all coming to a sudden halt. It's the last hurrah, every moment of the past 13 years has lead to this moment right here. The moral of the story is, appreciate the time you have when you have it, because all of the sudden life as you know it will flash right before your eyes. Don't be afraid when life as you know it ends, because there will always be something amazing around the corner.

Class of 2016, embrace every last second of your high school career. Make memories, work hard, and raise some hell. Don't wish the short time you have left away, because when it's over there's no way to get the time back. These last moments will fill you with both joy and nostalgia, but when you look back it has been one hell of a ride. You know, endings are always going to be a bit sad, even when there is something great to look forward to on the other side.