Senior year has already taught me many things, and I feel like most of them are things we’ve heard our entire lives. I feel like they have been really reinforced throughout this semester, forcing me to pay closer attention to these five lessons than I ever have before. Maybe you also feel as if you have learned the importance of these, or you might’ve learned new lessons that you feel are relevant and necessary during senior year. 

Be thoughtful about your workload 

I wish I could go back in time and yell at my past self. I have never been busier than I have these past few months and I wish I would have controlled my workload a bit better. I think that it’s hard to know when you’re taking on too many responsibilities until you’re in the thick of it feeling like you’re crumbling underneath the stress. I’ve always been someone who thrives under pressure and always has to be doing something, but I wish I could have better prepared myself for taking on challenging classes, extracurriculars, college apps, and attempting to have a social life. When getting ready for your senior year, I would advise you to carefully think about how you want to spend your senior year, and guarantee that the schedule you’ve signed up for and the extracurriculars you plan on taking allows you to have the kind of senior year you want. I wouldn’t change the way this first semester has played out because it has taught me many valuable lessons, including how to plan next semester to take less of a toll on me.  

Manage your time 

Going right off the topic of controlling your workload, we’ve been told our entire school careers that knowing how to manage your time is the key to a successful academic career and I would 100% agree. I was confident in my time management until this semester. With lots of responsibilities, it’s easy to lose control of deadlines and not put aside enough time to complete the mountain of assignments that can quickly pile up. Having a social life and taking time for yourself is super important, but the key is to know when you can and still be able to complete the rest of your tasks. Personally, I love planners. Writing things down is the easiest way for me to remember assignments/events, and I strongly encourage them. If you don’t like physical planners, I also recommend Homework Tracker, an extension that lets you create a to-do list of your assignments and their due dates. Google Keep is also a great online source to write down notes on your upcoming tasks.  

Create relationships  

Having solid and thoughtful relationships this year has been really helpful for me. I think that a solid support system is one of the best things someone can have. Friends and family are of course crucial, and help lift you up during your hard times and relieve some of the stress you might be feeling, and those relationships are 100% necessary. Having connections within the school is also really important. I think this year more than ever it’s been super helpful to have a good relationship with your teachers and counselors as you’re preparing for college and trying to end your high school career on the best note possible. Knowing they are always there to help and you can go to them at any time is essential. 

Stay present and have fun

Senior year includes so much fun traditions and experiences but also lots of stress, and it’s easy to get swept away in it all. I think something to remind yourself is to stay present. You only get to experience your senior year of high school, so make the most of it! Create new friendships, attend school events, take electives you’ve always wanted to! This is the year of choice, use it to your advantage. We’ve all heard people gripe about their high school regrets and we’ve heard others go on and on about how high school was the best time of their lives. Do everything you can to be the latter, try to live with no regrets. 

Know when to prioritize your wellbeing 

I would say the most valuable lesson I have learned during this semester is knowing when to put you and your wellbeing first. It can be really easy to tell yourself that you’re fine and just need to push through, but sometimes it’s best to take a step back and admit that you need a minute, an hour, or a day just for yourself. When I don’t do this, I struggle with compartmentalizing, and bring my stress from school over to skating or vice versa and that never ends well. I end up feeling worse than before and drowning in negative emotions. Sometimes it’s necessary to just continue on, despite feeling down physically or mentally, but other times it’s important to think about the end result and how your current feelings are going to affect that and if it’s going to be the result you want or need. This lesson is easier said than done, and it took me a while to actually start following it, but I think that it’s helped me a lot.