BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

A sound I hate more than anything in the world: my early morning school alarm. As I roll over, my eyes red and sagging from my miserable face, I reach for my phone to shut off the deafening, irritating noise. Turning off my alarm was one of the hardest parts of the daily routine of school. I yawned, cracked my back, and rose from my bed to prepare for the first day of senior year but as I brushed my teeth and dressed myself, all I could focus on at that moment was the upcoming final chapter of my high school years in addition to the challenges and wonder of what my senior year could potentially bring.

     I heard a bundle of mixed reviews about the journey of senior year from multiple sources including friends, family, and the media world so I had no clue what to expect. My brother would tell me I’d enjoy it, meanwhile my friends in college tell me it was the most stressful year I would encounter in high school. After a struggling junior year, that was the last thing I wanted to hear.

       Would I be staying up until three in the morning writing research papers for a book I hadn’t read again? Would I be practicing hours of math late at night after hours of homework? Unaware of the stress senior year could bring, my mind filled with concerns of my high school success for my final year and the potential anxiety it could bring.

      Every year I had the same worries about school and senior year was nothing different. All I could do was hope I’d have all the classes I requested and not the alternates that were practically picked out for me by my guidance counselor. I couldn’t help but wonder what classmates would be in my classes or if my teachers and I would get on the right track. I worried if my teacher would assign me twenty pages of homework every night and force me to copy down notes every period. I yearned for the teacher that would be understanding and not put me to sleep every class.

      In addition to my worries in the classroom, I worried about the most crucial football season I’ve ever played. After three years, I’ve never carried a more vital role on the team, and I knew I had to rise to my own standards. Before I knew it, my last football season would be over, and I’d have to make sure I made the most of every opportunity, no matter how much I would prefer spending weeks of my summer break on sand everyday rather than turf. 

       Lastly, my mind was clustered with the most stressful part of senior year, the nightmarish college application process. I stressed about what colleges would accept me and which wouldn’t look in my direction. In addition, I was skeptical of what teachers that I could go to for the best recommendations that would benefit me the most. The last thing I wanted was to be thrusted into a college that wasn’t one of my top choices. Often I hear “If I could do high school all over again I would”, I just hope that’s the case.