Dear That Kid Who is Starting Senior Year

Power mullet and b-boy stance in effect.

1989. Senior year. That was the year I drove a car on two wheels for the first time; fell in love for the first time; got my heart broken for the first time. It was the year I said something that would pass for adequate analysis, and Dr. Williams made me feel like I was brilliant. Also: I saw my first Batman movie. It was an eventful year, and I remember all of it. I also remember how fast it went by.

As you may have noted from the date, I was in 12th grade a long time ago, back when women wore shoulder pads in their jackets, men had power mullets, and Donald Trump was advertising his new board game.

Although my senior year was many decades (and hairs) ago, I do have some advice that may be applicable to yours.

Enjoy Time With Your Friends

The boys.

This year will fly by and some of your currents friends will drift away into other lives. Enjoy them while you can. I am still good friends with my boys from high school, and the older I get the more I see how important it is to know people who knew me when. Don’t let petty arguments and misunderstandings get in the way of some quality adventures. There’s probably only one group of people more important than your friends.

Also, the boys.

Enjoy Time With Your Family

That's my Pop. 

While you may or may not have the same friends in 20 years, your family is your family forever. Carve some time out to spend with them. Your parents will no doubt miss you when you are off at college, and you will miss them too. I still regret all the times I blew off spending time with my grandparents. My grandfather died while I was a sophomore in college; I would give anything to have a long afternoon to hang out with him now. Go talk to your amazingly knowledgeable relatives while you still can. You will not regret it.  

Go Hard Now and Hit Life Running

You also won't regret putting in some work this year. So many seniors show up to school with a huge sense of entitlement. They figure they’ve worked hard this long and they deserve to float through their last year. Don’t fall into that trap! This is the last chance you have to sharpen your skills for whatever comes next in your life. You may not have to read another poem in your life, you may never have to solve for X again, but no matter what you do, you will be called upon to think. 

Staying up all night playing Fortnite then sleeping through your morning classes is no way to keep your brain active. Plus, you are only making it harder on yourself. Throw yourself into your classes, find a way to motivate yourself and others, and the year will be much more pleasant. Better to miss a night of gaming to finish that paper than to miss out on that last band concert because you lost eligibility. If you actually work when you have time in class, you won't even have to work that hard at home. (Crazy concept, I know)

Slow Down and Enjoy It

Of course, some of you have been going hard since your were two. You're taking all the top classes, just as you always have. You have a job, run a club, volunteer, play in the band...you do everything but sleep. If this is you, you might want to try the opposite of the advice I gave in the previous section. Take a couple of hours sometime and just hangout with people. Like, irl. Go see them. Get some Sonic. The world won't fall apart. I promise.

Please, no matter what you do, have a great year. You only get one of these. (Some people get two, but that's a story for another post)