The change in weather over these past few days has been very stark. A couple days ago I was suffering in an unbearably humid, hot 95 degrees. Today, the air was crisp and light, and the highest temperature was only 74 degrees. Perhaps this change in weather signals that fall is on its way, and that school is soon to start as well.

It’s quite hard to believe that the beginning of the end of our four years as high schoolers is here. Think back to the time when we were freshmen. We knew absolutely nothing about this huge school. For a straight month we relied on maps to get around to class and carried huge embarrassing binders. Well, that definitely wasn’t all of us, but that was definitely me.

Then we stumbled through sophomore year. It was the year where we weren’t babied like freshmen, but we weren’t experiencing the true wrath of high school which was junior year.

Then came junior year in all its glory, which we all survived! Through the torrent of doc analyses, DBQs, FRQs, and the beautiful time of AP week, we emerged more or less victorious.

Now comes senior year. We’ve all heard things from past seniors, things like “The first half is just as bad, if not worse, as junior year, but the second half is awesome!” But I think we have to experience it for ourselves to know how senior year really feels like. But we DO know that there are so many perks of being a senior, such as coming in late to school on PSAT day (remember when we had to take that dreaded thing two years in a row?), more parking spots, and basically cruising by the end of the year. But we can’t catch senioritis early! That would be very bad.

Maybe it is even harder to believe that after this year is over, we will all be going our separate ways, whether that be college, a gap year, the military, or the workforce. There are going to be many lasts. Next week will be the last first day of high school, there’ll come the last Halloween at home, the last winter and spring break, the last full day of school, the last time we walk the school halls as students. (Wow that sounds really depressing). But there are going to be so many firsts too! There’ll be the first time we visit the high school as alumni, out first day at college, the first time we travel the world with friends as independent young adults.

All of that will happen later. Right now, the chapter of senior year lies before us like a thousand blank pages. It will read however we choose to write it. That’s a pretty daunting task. We just need to have our clear goals in mind, and to remember to let loose and have fun along the way.