I thought that deciding between CU Boulder or University of Denver would be the hardest choice of my senior year, but I had no idea what I was in for.

With senior year coming to an end, it can be said that being in the graduating class was by far the most tiring and stressful year of high school. Try managing to finish your high school career with solid grades while juggling college applications, scholarship requirements, internships, jobs, and some semblance of a social life. All that jazz isn’t easy to do or know how to manage in advance unless you have older siblings or friends that can offer guidance. I was lucky to have many family members attend Grandview and tell me all sort of stories and what to expect. Since it’s the last couple of weeks of school, I hope this article help ease some stress for the graduating class of 2019.

Don’t be fooled, folks. You’ve all heard Junior year is the most stressful, but senior year isn’t as easy as everyone makes it out to be. While I loved all my classes and had arguably sufficient motivation, it becomes easier than ever to forget your responsibilities, especially after you’re accepted into college or trade school — whatever you plan on doing.

“You can’t just fall off the radar your senior year. You got to still work and, you know, accomplish what you need to accomplish in order to finish off strong, don’t slack off” said Senior Mikhail Kaminer, who plans on majoring in Urban Studies at CU Denver.

When it comes on how to achieve that strong finish, it’s all about how you react when–not if– you get struck by senioritis.  “You got to stay in the game for most of the semester and get yourself on a nice shelf of good grades for second semester and then you can coast from there” said Valedictorian Alex Herbert, who plans on majoring in Economics at CU Boulder.

If you plan on going to college, don’t wait until the week before deadlines to start. Oftentimes, colleges request more information and you want as much time as possible to perfect your application– First impressions are paramount.

“Write your college essays over the summer. I cannot tell you how stressful it is to push all of your college essays to school because school starts and you start to get early onset cases of senioritis… so if you can knock out your common app essay and then any specific scholarship or college essays that are available over the summer, do it.” said Valedictorian Swati Jujare, who plans on majoring in Biology at CSU. Second semester especially is a time of great turbulence. Everyone is getting their acceptances and figuring out their future. In high school, a lot of your focus in school aside from academics goes towards maintaining your friendships with people and fitting in. As senior year ends, it cannot be stressed enough how important it is to not lose sight of your goals, and not to take it too personally when friends drift apart.

As you find yourself and determine the kind of person you want to become, your friends will too. So many “squads” fell through this year, and that’s okay. The important thing is to surround yourself with people that support your choices and grow alongside you rather than against you.

Every Friday for us was “Pho Friday”, like everyone knows that but we would always hang out every Friday” said Kareena Arora who plans on studying computer sciences at CU Boulder.

One thing I don’t regret about my high school career was participating in school events like Prom and football games. I also appreciate all the relationships forged with school staff and administration. Grandview has a distinctly unique environment where the majority of teachers truly care about the students and their lives.

Grandview has been a place of growth and opportunity.

“I got to first hand witness a C section and open-heart surgery in the operating room… They have all these different opportunities to get experience in the field you want because I was really unsure if I could handle the intensity of medicine but doing the internship really showed me that I can do it,” said Jujare.

“This year it was a lot about being independent. Freshman year it’s more about like, ‘I need to find friends, this is scary’, and your sophomore year nothing is really happening to you, and then your junior year, you’re just focused on testing and everything. This year I was just more independent,” said Cailey Pacelko.

“I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned this year is probably to savor the moment because even if it is 2 in the morning and I am studying for some test that probably won’t matter in 2 months or whatever, it’s still that experience of gaining knowledge and– on top of that– being in the moment with friends because I likely won’t see 95% of them after graduation.” said Kaminer.

With Graduation less than 2 weeks away, focus is shifting towards life after high school.

“I am really excited to meet new people and see what real life is about, because in college you get to tailor your classes to your major and so I am really excited to be studying and focusing,” said Kaminer.

“I’m nervous about doing it all over again, like and my school work obviously but mainly like, completely starting over as a freshman.” said Arora.

“I’m excited to meet new people and join new clubs in college, and I’m excited to decorate my dorm because I’m going into interior design, so I’m excited,” said Pacelko, who plans on majoring in this passion at CSU.

“It’s a little scary, but I’m really excited for Boulder, I think it’s a really nice place, it should be fun. I’m excited to continue playing jazz, the one thing I have done all four years has been jazz and music, so getting to continue that through college isn’t something everyone has the ability to do,” said Herbert, who is also majoring in Jazz performance.

A lot of seniors said it’s bittersweet to be leaving Grandview, to which I agree. Some of the best times of my life were made in this school. I remember being a little kid and coming to Grandview all the time for my cousin’s basketball games. I guess living and growing up here, this school really shaped so many memories for this community as a whole.

However, I am excited for what the future has in store for me. I have been ready to leave High school for a while, but I’m still surprised at how quickly this year flew by. That being said, I wish every incoming senior good luck in their last year of high school! Make the best of it, your senior year is the time when you start reflecting on both who you were at Grandview, and who you want to be after you finally walk across the stage and get your diploma.

As for you, class of 2018– we were the best. I wish you all the best of luck in the path you set forth for yourself, whether that be college, trade school, or a career. Life is your burrito, see you all on May 24.