Slow down, enjoy this year. Cherish living with your family, and spend quality time with your friends. Go all out during spirit week, and keep dressing up for school every now and then, you'll weirdly miss it. Play your heart out in every practice and game. Keep going to all of the basketball and football games. Enjoy the small class sizes and eating lunch with all of your best friends. Be proactive and get those college applications in instead of waiting until the last second. Take advantage of school days where you just hang out in the courtyards. Lead with the best of your ability on the field, in clubs, and in the classroom.

Don't forget to take a step back and take it all in.

Procrastinating those college application essays is only going to make your life more stressful

I know you'd much rather be doing literally anything else than writing yet another essay about yourself but just keep at it. It will all be worth it, trust me.

Cherish every single second you have with your family

In a few months, you will be living pretty much on your own, so savor every day spent with your family, and cherish all the errands and chores, you will miss it.

​Some of the people you are close with right now aren't going to be in your wedding someday

And that's ok. Just enjoy the time you have with them because in less than a year people you haven't even met yet will be the ones you can't live without.

The things you are worrying about right now will be of little consequence this time next year

Prom? Fun, but not the best night of your life. AP Exams? Not the hardest tests you'll ever take.

Enjoy high school classes, it only gets more difficult

Even AP classes pale in comparison to college classes in terms of studying, so enjoy them while you can.

Do not worry about choosing the "perfect" college

Going with your gut when choosing where you will spend the next four years of your life is a much better approach than constantly stressing over all of your options.

Put your full effort into every practice and game

You will miss these moments with your teammates, when your biggest worry was if the goal was good or not.

Surround yourself with people who make you the best version of yourself 

Spend your time with people that encourage you, uplift you, and make you laugh. Life is too short for superficial friendships. However, reach out to people and always be open to new friendships, instead of closing yourself off.

What feels like the end is just the beginning 

Even though it is scary to know that everything in your life is about to change, know that the next year of your life, your freshman year of college, is going to hold some of your favorite memories.

​Enjoy where you are now

Right now. Wherever you are. Stop wishing for graduation, for summer, for college, for the future. Those things will come. Your senior year of high school will come and go. So, for better or for worse, take it slow and give your attention to what is right in front of you, the people you've grown up with, and the places you've called home.