As the second semester of classes begin, Twitter and Facebook is flooded with odes to senior year of high school. These long, heartfelt messages urge seniors to make the most of senior year because it is the best year of your life. Senior year is glorified as the most exciting year of your life. Truly your life will only go downhill because you won't be able to go to Friday night football games.
However, I disagree.
For most people, including myself, senior year of high school was not the best year of my life. Sure, it was pretty cool, but not as dramatic as everyone makes it out to be. Three years after you graduate high school, I doubt you're going to reminiscing about senior year of high school. I don't miss freezing at high school football games that really weren't that fun most of the time. I also don't miss having only five minutes to walk from class to class. Not to mention trying to navigate the unnecessarily crowded hallways.
For me, the best years are to come. First, being able to make your own class schedule is amazing. If you're a night owl like me, having my first class start at 11 p.m. is life-changing for me. You don't need to ask to go to the bathroom anymore. You don't have to have classes every day if you don't want to. Overall, you have more freedom.
So here's a little letter with some good advice for all high school seniors:
Dear Seniors,
This probably isn't the best year of your life. You're the top of the totem pole in high school, but honestly, just wait until you get to college. You'll wonder why you were so worried that senior year was ending. This year will be full of lasts, but that isn't a bad thing. Years from now you're not going to miss your high school homecoming in your school gym with bad music and overly expensive dress. (The boy you go with probably isn't going to matter either). Graduation isn't that dramatic. It's a privilege that many don't get to have, so appreciate it. Your real friends you'll still talk to after graduation day and the others will slowly fade away and it really won't bother you. However, I will say, enjoy the carefree nature of high school. It's stressful, don't get me wrong, but the stresses of student loans and getting a job after college isn't looming directly on you...yet.
Senior year isn't as important a milestone as everyone may think. You'll move on to the next adventure. Enjoy your year but don't feel the need to stress out if you're not having enough fun or not going out enough. Senior year will slowly start to blend together with the other three years of high school.
Have fun and remember, senior year is not that dramatic.