Dear Juniors, 

As this unconventional school year comes to a close and as you near your final year of high school, there are some things you should keep in mind. The most important thing of all: remember that at the end of the day, everything turns out okay. 

I understand how easy it is to beat yourself up and overwork yourself your senior year. Regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic changing the way school functions, the college application process remains stressful, AP classes continue to be tough, and I still could not get past the disbelief that I was actually a senior. All seniors go through these events, in addition to more positive experiences you hopefully can enjoy next year’s prom, GradBash, senior picnic, etc. 

Though the college application takes up a lot of room in seniors’ minds, do not let it bring down the joyful memories you can make with your fellow peers. At the end of the day, all of you guys have worked extremely hard and gone through a lot, you deserve to take a moment to breathe and enjoy your senior year. You will end up in the college meant for you, and keep in mind it might not be the college you expected. During this year, you get to learn about yourself in ways you did not get a chance to before, and during this journey you may learn that your dream school for years on end may actually not be your dream school. You may feel more excited about opportunities another place offers.

In short, even though senior year does have stressful aspects to it, do not let those aspects cloud over all the good things. Enjoy the little moments with the classmates you have to soon part ways with, enjoy knowing that you never have to take AP classes again, enjoy the last moments high school has to offer you. Make sure to take deep breaths and always look at the positives.