You’ve done—or have at least tried to do— it all. You have gone to Senior Sunrise, Winterball, Sadies, Prom, enjoyed your firsts and your lasts, but feel as though your efforts are not enough. You come to the conclusion that these attempts have come to no avail, and are dismayed by the lack of opportunities you have left to fully enjoy the remainder of your withering and ephemeral senior year. You have read all of the “Letters to Class of 2016” and “Things to remember for your senior year” articles, and they all emphasize breathing in the “lasts” –your last football game, your last school dance, and the list endlessly trails on.

Luca Matsumoto, senior on Wilcox’s boys’ varsity tennis team, commented on his last tennis game that he “just wanted to chill and have a good time. I played my best and even though I didn’t do as well as I could, I still loved every minute of it.” He talked about his surprise when “walked off the court and saw that people would spend the effort to make posters for us.”

Khoi Dao, senior on the Wilcox boys’ volleyball team, emphasized that “To make the most out of my last season playing volleyball I try to be positive and play as hard as I can.” Despite several losses, Dao states, “Everyone knew they did their best and there’s always room to improve for next time.” A link to the upcoming sports games and meets will be placed at the end of this article, and both myself and seniors on our sports team encourage the Class of 2016 to watch their lasts play out before them.

However, senior year is not solely focused on your lasts –it is also about thriving in your firsts. College may seem intimidating and too foreign to participate in entirely new things, thus doing so in a more accustomed-to environment can lead to an improved experience. Samia Abbasi, ASB President who will be venturing off to Mills College pursuing an English degree, commented, “Traveling was my first big thing —I went to New York a couple of weeks ago. Experiencing the world and as a senior, this is the best time for you to go travel because you have no solid commitments to high school or college, so this is a great opportunity for you to take advantage of.”

Many have also found a group of friends that they felt truly comfortable and content in. “I feel like I really expanded my friend group and I felt comfortable with the people I became close friends with,” Samia continued. “They’re friends that I know that even if we aren’t talking every day, once we get home we can all go out, grab coffee, and talk as though the distance did not extinguish our relationship.”

Alina Kwiatkowski, Senior Class President, also advised current and upcoming seniors, “Spend every spare moment with your friends because even if you see them later in life, it’s never going to be the same.”

As cliché as it is, create bucket lists exclusively for the remnants of your senior year. Compile any inkling of an idea into a comprehensive list, although most of the items you may never have the opportunity to check off. However, there are plenty that you can achieve, including Senior Ditch Day, the CSF beach trip, Guttadauro’s house party for her AP Lit seniors, Goodbye Rally, and Grad night. Reveling in the sparse moments you have left in high school can not only fulfill the expectations you clenched onto at the beginning of the year, but the vacancy reserved for the memories you will find yourself reminiscing.

As for the Class of 2017, junior year is a rite of passage into your senior year, so do not rush through these final moment of stress and frustration —believe it or not, you will feel a surge a pride as you see the product of your hard work on your college apps.

Slow it down seniors, and enjoy the stroll to the finish line.