It feels like I blinked, and suddenly, senior year is almost over.

Every day, the countdown gets shorter — the last football game, the last spirit week, the last time we all walk through the same crowded hallways together. Everyone keeps saying how ready they are to leave, how they can’t wait to start their next chapter. But if I’m being honest, I’m caught somewhere between wanting to hold on and wanting to run straight into the future.

It’s a strange feeling — knowing this is the end of something you’ve known for so long.

For the past four years, school has been a routine. The same people, the same hallways, the same lunches with friends. The bell rings, we laugh in class, we complain about homework. It’s been repetitive, but in a comforting way. It’s stability. Now that it’s ending, I realize how much I took that comfort for granted.

When I was a freshman, I couldn’t wait to grow up. I wanted to drive, go to dances, have senior privileges. I looked at the older kids and thought they had it all figured out. Now I’m one of them — and I don’t feel figured out at all.

Everyone keeps asking the same question: “What are your plans after graduation?” It sounds innocent, but it’s terrifying. College? Trade school? Moving away? Staying close to home? It feels like every answer I give could change everything.

Some nights I scroll through pictures from the past few years — homecoming, football games, late-night drives — and it hits me how much these people have become a part of who I am. We’ve grown up together, laughed together, cried together. We’ve watched each other fail, succeed, and change. And now, we’re all heading in different directions, like dandelion seeds blowing in the wind.

There’s excitement in that, of course. The idea of starting over — of becoming someone new — is thrilling. There’s a whole world outside the walls of our high school, and I can’t wait to see it. I dream about decorating a dorm room, meeting new friends, and figuring out who I want to be without the labels I’ve carried for years.

But excitement and fear live side by side. For every dream I have, there’s a little voice whispering what if. What if I don’t make friends? What if I pick the wrong path? What if I miss home more than I expect?

I think that’s what senior year is really about — learning how to say goodbye and still look forward. It’s realizing that growing up isn’t just about moving on; it’s about letting yourself feel everything that comes with it — the joy, the fear, the sadness, the hope.

I used to think the end of high school would be one big celebration — no tears, no worries, just excitement. But it’s more complicated than that. It’s late nights with friends trying to soak up every last moment. It’s realizing you’ll never all be in the same place again. It’s packing up your memories and trusting that they’ll carry you forward.

As graduation gets closer, I keep reminding myself that it’s okay to be scared. It means I care. It means this chapter mattered.

And maybe that’s what makes the next one so exciting — not knowing exactly what comes next, but being brave enough to turn the page anyway.