To The High School Senior That Can’t Wait to Graduate,

First of all, let me tell you I wish I was you. I wish I was taking pictures on my last “first day of school” and preparing to enter senior year. Senior year is an emotional roller coaster, let me tell ya. You will have these moments where you literally cannot wait to leave and then you realize you would do anything for more time. You will dress up for your last spirit week and do everything “for the insta” realizing that those pictures will later hang on your dorm room wall. You will party with your friends in someone’s basement never thinking that in a few months you will hundreds of miles from them. You will tell yourself that you are so excited for this new chapter when really you couldn’t be more petrified.

Please take so many pictures. Document every crazy night with your gal pals or your last pink-out game. Please be that person that asks a stranger to take a picture for you because your gonna want it. Those pictures will be the things that make you feel close to your friends when your hundreds of miles apart. Memorize all the things you love about your friends, because those are the people you are going to want to surround yourself with in college.

Please spend time with your parents. Nothing beats a dinner with mom and dad talking about all the drama and upcoming events in your life. Tell them you love them every single day because in a mere few months you will have to do it over the phone, and it sucks. Be grateful that they are your biggest supporters and love it when you succeed. Let them come to the pictures before winter ball and post on FB about how beautiful you are. Let them hang out with you and your friends because they love them a whole lot too. Let them love you and you better love them back because time, my loves, is so precious.

Do not stress about the applications and the timing. Getting your stuff in is important but it’s not worth all the stressing. Don’t make yourself crazy; the school that’s right for you will pick you. It might not be the school you once thought it was, but it will become your new home. You will get this feeling and know it's where you belong.

Now it's May and you are in the home stretch. This is when you start to realize it’s all coming to an end. You will stress about finding a prom date when really you should probably just go with your best friends. Then that night will be over and the grad parties will start coming. You will go and sit and talk, and before you know it it's graduation day. You will cry, so accept it and move on. It’s okay to be sad a huge chapter of your life is closing, and it’s scary. You will take your squad pics and realize that this group is about to change. Your life is about to change and it will make your stomach hurt.

Congrats! You made it, you've officially graduated. Now some of your friends will leave for summer sessions and you won’t even know what to do. Before you blink you are hugging your best friend who's about to be hundreds of miles from you. It doesn’t hit you until your sitting in your dorm realizing how far your comfort zones are. You will be okay.

This year is such a gift, such a great time in your lives. Use it well, smile often, be happy. Your life is about to change but it’s going to be so amazing. I am jealous of you and so excited for your future endeavors. With so much love, from your favorite college freshman.