The senior class has officially made it halfway through their senior year! Yay us!

The end of our time in  high school may be over soon, and while that is exciting for some, it’s also extremely nerve-racking for others.

Stress is starting to consume most of us, and the rest of us are just pretending that it isn’t. There’s no hiding it… it’s stressful and scary that we are all about to enter the ‘real world’.

I’ll be the first to say that I am scared and a little nervous about it, and that’s the first thing I tell people when they ask me about how I feel going to college next year.

It’s some scary stuff; there’s no denying it.

But rest assured everyone, it won’t be nearly as bad as we are fixing it up to be in our heads. Life is 110% going to throw some wrenches in your plans, no doubt, but there’s a lot to look forward to, as well.

There’s only one way to help make the stress better: learn how to deal with it now before it gets worse.

The best thing to do right now is to plan out the near future. Such as, what you’re going to be doing within the next month.

Start with the small goals, then broaden them and extend them when the time comes.

Be versatile when it comes with plans and goals that you want to reach. Remember that reaching goals always feels good and is often rewarding, but sometimes they are set too high and often unachievable. Keep your goals reasonable and simple.  

For example, what do you want to do by the end of this month? Set your goal, then once you reach and achieve that goal, set another. As you continue to set them, slowly make them bigger and more complex. Eventually, you should be able to set a series of goals and achieve them.

As the stress piles onto your shoulders, just remember that this is not the end of the world. This stress you feel right now may feel bad, but it is good stress; it is pushing you to better yourself and accomplish great things in life.

Don’t stress about what you wear one day or if you’re having a bad hair day. I promise you that no one will remember that your hair was out of place at your high school reunion. No one is going to notice that you wore sweatpants three days in a row and that you haven’t washed your hair in four days; hey girl, there’s always dry shampoo!

No one remembers those things. I promise, it’s just unneeded stress that you’ve added onto your pre-existing stress.

Try to escape some of that stress, get out and do something fun! The more you sit around and think about the stress the more stressed you get!

Hang out with your friends now while you can. One day, soon, they will all be miles away, some even across the country. These are the last five months to spend with them while we are all still in the same area.

The only one that can make these next few months fun is you and only you. Be carefree and try your hardest to enjoy every moment, but at the same time, make sure you stay focused and on track with your goals.

Alumni Megan Gereny said, “Let go of any grudges/negative feelings you have against teachers and students you go to to school with.”

A big thing to remember is that you shouldn’t wish away these next five months. They are going to fly by no matter what, so try to embrace the moments as best as you can.

Alumni Casey Nelson said, “Enjoy every moment. Also, take time to stop and take in a moment. It gets crazy, but try to enjoy it while you can.”

These are the final memories that you are going to be making. Get involved in as much as you can, try new things, talk to new people, just reach out and make new memories with current friends or new friends.

Senior year has always been hyped up to be the best year of your life. However, in order for it to be the best, you have to make it the best. Keep an open mind and stay open to new possibilities, try joining a new club, try out for a sport, just try new things; they may turn out being one of the best decisions that you made.

You’ll never know until you try it.