Dear Seniors,

There are two types of 12th graders in this world. The first describes those who cling on to the familiar comfort of dependency and fear the uncertainty of the unknown. The second group anticipates the day when they are liberated from this heinous, prison-like place labeled “high school”. I urge you to be in the third category: those who enjoy the fleeting happiness that can be found in the opportunities presented to youth, yet embrace the future and the opportunity it holds.

To the seniors counting down the days until graduation, living each day and simply enduring their current life, I ask, why can’t we be happy now? I admit I have personally spent countless days dryly persevering at school, telling myself that life would get better “after a test”, or that I would only have to be unhappy until I “finish an essay”, only to find myself repeating this loop immediately following the completion of an assignment due to new loads of schoolwork. Stop prolonging your happiness or mental health for school when you could be living your life to the fullest. There will always be more work and challenges will never cease disrupting your life; the only thing that you can do is change is your attitude towards these hardships and start living for yourself.

To those who do not want to leave, high school may have been the best time of your life, filled with amazing moments that seem like they can never be matched again, but we must remember that you and I are young, mere infants in the infinite vastness of time. We have so many more places to see, foods to eat, people to meet, dreams to accomplish that we cannot even fathom yet. We have other heartbreaks to experience, songs to hear, and art to appreciate; we have an entire lifetime ahead of us that will be filled with moments of deep sorrow and unthinkable, overflowing joy.

Make your last few months in high school your best. Spread your legacy, do what you have always wanted to do regardless of fear, take the initiative to make the community a better place, and look forward to your future. Let’s make the remainder of this year count.