Okay,Dear incoming high school seniors,

This is it! You've made it to your senior year of high school. If you're anything like I was as a rising senior, you're feeling low-key excited but chill enough to focus on maintaining your GPA for your final year. Or, if you're like my brother was, you're jumping on furniture and yelling "SEEN-YUR" in your best frat boy impression every five to ten minutes.

No matter what kind of rising senior you are, this is going to be a heck of a year. Of course, there will be grumpy adults around you that tell you, "Senior year is nothing. Wait till you buy a house, or have children!" But don't be discouraged: this is your moment. Enjoy it while you can, because senior year is unique from other life milestones in its own right, and thus deserves to be cherished.

That being said, here's a handy dandy Senior Year Survival Guide! Buckle up, kids.

1. Take oh-so-many photos.

Story time: this year my out-of-this-world Grandma put together three chronological photo albums filled with pictures of me from birth all the way up until my graduation. Now that sounds like a ton of pictures, but what I noticed was that, as I became more self-conscious about my appearance, the pictures started to become further apart in time. So while there were tons of photos from elementary and middle school, some of my favorite moments in high school were missing from the albums just because I was too worried about my appearance to snap a picture.

So my advice to you, rising senior, is this: stop worrying about what you look like and take the picture. Trust me, when you look at these photos at the end of the year you won't care that your makeup is running in a picture at your friend's pool party, or that your button-down shirt is halfway untucked at a sports banquet. You will want these photos, even with their imperfections, because you will make so many memories over the next twelve months that there's no way you'll be able to keep all of them straight without pictures. Save your pickiness about flyaway hairs and too-rosy cheeks for your senior photo shoot.

(And an extra tip: polaroids are awesome, but make sure you're taking pictures on your phone, too, so that your out-of-this-world grandma can make you a photo album, too!)

2. Senioritis is real. Prepare for it.

Alright, time for the come-to-Jesus moment: senioritis is real. You will get it. For the entirety of my high school career, I turned in all my homework, I never skipped class without a really good reason, I studied for all my tests -- until senior year. By the time March rolled around and I had made the deposit to my future college, it suddenly dawned on me that everything I was doing was no longer to learn, but simply to get to the end of the school year.

This realization put a sizable dent in my ability to motivate myself. I stopped turning in every single homework assignment, I only studied for the tests I absolutely could not afford to fail, and, yes, I even skipped a few classes just so I could treat myself to some Starbucks and aid my mental health.

All this being said, however, I still graduated in the top ten percent of my class because I held myself up to a certain standard. Conquering senioritis is all about prioritizing. Some nights, homework will be more important than sleep. But trust me, some nights, sleep will be way more important than homework. Decide what your standard is, and stick to it. You don’t have to overachieve, just stick to a standard and don’t let yourself slip. If you’re comfortable with an 85% in math instead of an 89%, then missing a homework assignment or two won’t be a big deal. This year, you’ll probably have bigger fish to fry.

3. Learn your way around the Calendar app or get a planner.

Remember this photo that circulated the internet, I don’t know, five years ago?

Yes? Awesome. Now, senior year is like the photo above, except instead of a triangle, picture a dodecagon divided like a pizza. (A dodecagon is shape with twelve sides, in case, like me, you sucked at geometry.) Got it? Great. Now imagine your dodeca-pizza slices are labeled with twelve important parts of a well-rounded senior's life, and you can only choose two slices per day. Here's a graphic I made just for you for reference:

This is senior year. Yes, really. I managed to keep a cute calligraphy planner for about a week before I started logging everything in the notes, reminders, and calendar apps on my phone. Whether you're a planner person, a phone person, or a different breed of organizer, find a way to keep track of upcoming events, deadlines, and meetings. I got so caught up in the senior-year business that I missed the deadline to submit a senior quote in the yearbook. It was really lame. You'll miss trivial stuff like that as well as important events unless you have a way to keep things on your radar.

And, for the love of God, make sure your parent or guardian is getting those school emails and newsletters. My mom saved my butt this year by reminding me about deadlines for senior fees more times than I can count. Listserv is your friend.

4. Make the most of it.

This sounds super basic, but hear me out: there will be times this year when you want to tear your hair out and scream, or curl up under the covers and never leave your bed. But try not to just trudge from day to day, or from weekend to weekend. This is really advice for life, but it especially will apply to you this year, too.

Also, hang out with your friends. Do something special with the people you care about, because after this year, everything will change. It sounds sad, but the fact of the matter is that everyone is going to start going their own directions after this year, because, wo-hey, that’s what adults do, and you’re going to be adults very soon! To make the most of your time with your friends, have some unique get-togethers and outings. This year instead of going to our school’s homecoming dance, we went mini-golfing and arcade-gaming in fancy clothes. For my best friend’s surprise birthday, we booked an escape room and then came home to a dinosaur-themed cookout. If someone invites you to something, try your best to resist the urge to stay at home and be a hermit. Just go out and do it. You’ll be surprised by how much fun you have — and I’m talking to you, too, my fellow introverts.

And there you have it. Senior year is a beast, for sure, but if you stay organized and live in the moment, you'll make it out alive and well. Always remember that it's okay to reach out to your friends, family, guidance counselors, and teachers when you need help. And, when in doubt, you can probably look up all of your questions on the internet. (i.e., "what even is a senior convocation ceremony," and "how many cups of coffee can an 18-year-old consume before immediate death".) Good luck, and don't trip when you walk across the stage at graduation!