Going into your senior year can be exciting but also stressful. This is the year where you really need to settle down and think about your future. This is the year you need to make sure your grades are good, put the effort in, figure out what you’re doing after you graduate, and make sure you get everything ready to be done with high school. As someone who is graduating in a few days, I would like to give the upcoming seniors some advice.

1. Focus on your academic success. You want to make sure your grades are the best they can be. I know your senioritis is probably kicking in, but you want to fight it the best you can. First hand, I can tell you, senioritis gets bad. You want to just be finished before the year is even close to being over, but you need to try your hardest to get all of your work done. Just like the rest of your high school years, this year also really matters on college decisions, so do your absolute best to keep up on school work. It’s easy to fall behind, and that’s the last thing you want to do.
2. Apply for colleges early!  Besides academic work, the main goal you will focus on is getting into college. You want to start applying for colleges as early as possible. Once you get accepted into college, there are a lot of things you need to keep up with. Another first hand example is, once I got into college, I started questioning which one I wanted to go to. This is understandable because there are so many good options, but since I did that I ended up  not getting into the major I wanted. I still am committed to that college, but I had to switch majors. With this being said, you want to take your time on these decisions because they decipher the rest of your life, but you also want to quickly make these decisions as well.
3. Make the most of it! This is your last year of high school. You want to make it the best you can. Hangout with your friends, go to school events, and make sure you participate. I understand some of you might think it’s too “weird” to participate in school activities, but trust me you will regret it. The seniors have quite a bit of events we plan. For example, we have the senior sunset, senior prank, senior breakfast, senior picnic, and so many more things to participate in. You may think those sound boring, or they aren’t for you, but at least give it a try. You will regret not going in the future. Remember that this is your year. Live your last year of high school to its fullest.

Good luck seniors! Your last year of high school goes by fast. Remember to try your hardest but to also have fun. Don’t stress too much over it. I promise you’ll be okay.