With June 19^th just around the corner, there is lots of excitement in the hallways of New Providence High School. The seniors are anxious for a change of scenery, whether it’s college, trade school, employment, or anything else that the future may hold. The juniors are relieved that the late nights of hard work and studying for SATs and ACTs are over for most of them. The sophomores are ready for the second half of high school. The freshmen are looking forward to a new year filled with new challenges. As my four years at NPHS come to a close in 23 days, it is only fitting to take a look back and provide some words of wisdom about senior year to those who are in the Class of 2016.

• If you are planning on going to college, get your applications done early. The Common App opens on August 1^st. Log on during the summer and fill out the general information. If your school isn’t on the Common App, it may open even earlier than that. Do early action or rolling decision if it’s offered at that school. Anything that you can do to get your application done early, do it. It will save you tons of time and stress before the deadlines.
• If you are an athlete, enjoy every practice and game because it will go by quicker than you think. High school sports are amazing and something that cannot be replaced as you move on in your life. It will be over before you know it. You will miss your cranky coaches and crazy teammates when the season ends.
• Make time for your friends and family. No matter how hard you may be studying or working on college applications, make sure that you give yourself plenty of time to hang out with your family and friends. When you decide on a college that is a thousand miles away from your parents and seven hundred miles away from your best friend, you want to look back and know that you made the most of the time that you had together.
• Get exempted from your finals. Even after those acceptance letters come rolling in, keep the effort up. You won’t want to be sitting in hot classrooms taking a final for a class and knowing absolutely nothing.
• No matter what you say, you will miss New Providence. You will miss the diner and Coppola’s and Zita’s and maybe even NPHS. The times spent in this town will stick with you forever. New Providence will always be your home town. It may not be the most exciting place in the world, but it was a great, supportive community in which to start our lives.

In closing, have some fun but make sure that you’re doing the hard work that is necessary when you go to NPHS. Enjoy your family time while you have it:  there are no free laundry or home-cooked meals in the dorms at college. Do not wish your high school life away – senior year is the best year of your life. One day it’s September 3 and the next it’s June 19.