Senior year: the year every student looks forward to, even if the idea is equal parts marvelous and horrifying. Once a kid finally distinguishes between all the crazy names we give grades nine through twelve, senior year becomes the goal in front of every task. That time for me has come, and I have to admit to feeling accomplished yet timid. At every turn I am either filling out applications to colleges, scrambling to look good on scholarships, rushing to schedule meetings for clubs, or pausing to remember that I had a calculus worksheet to do yesterday. Through all the chaos that could be senior year, I am making the conscientious decision to surf every wave crossing my path. I will not ride the current of senioritis, because I have seen others before me get sucked into the riptide. Instead of procrastination, these are the qualities I want to be known for senior year.

Encouraging: I want each student to know that they will survive high school! The world doesn’t end with a homework assignment or test. The world ends when you fail to thrive in every stage of life. Look at homework as a chance to expand your knowledge. Remember that you have incredible opportunities to be whoever you want to be. Learning is a lifestyle. Ask questions about how subjects apply to the world and be open-minded. It turns out that calculus helped get us to the moon. If that’s not relevant to making dreams come true, I don’t know what is. Your mindset in school will help your goals and dreams happen.

Available: My goal is to be available to hang out with my friends. This is my senior year, and I want to love every second of it. Just this Friday I ate tacos with my friend’s family, braided her sister’s hair, and then went to the Bacon Bowl. I could have stayed home and finished the great book I was reading, but that book was still there for me the next morning. If any of my friends need me, you can bet that I will do my best to be available for them.

Humble: I know there are so many things I have yet to learn. The year is only beginning, so I want to stay aware of everything I don’t know. Other people have more efficient ways than I do, more knowledge on world events than I do, more athletic prowess than I do, and more experience than I do. My job is to watch them and improve myself.

Appreciative: Each and every person is unique and has their own style and that is incredible. I want to acknowledge those different styles and value them as they come. The opportunities I will have this year as a writer in Parnassus and a leader in school did not come easily to me. I love the road that brought me to where I am. Through the potholes and closed roads that I have navigated, I have kept my eyes on what lies in front of me. Senior year is going to be too amazing to not love every step of it.