Dear Class of 2018,

This gives me much pleasure to say….but you guys have one more year of high school, one more year of everything. That probably sounds miserable right now because all the seniors are leaving and headed off to new, exciting places while you’re stuck in school (haha) but, trust me when I tell you you’re going to be thankful for that extra time. Take advantage of this upcoming school year and run the school like I know you guys can. Love and cherish getting to see your friends faces everyday and laugh at their dumb jokes because soon you’ll be missing those dumb jokes. Also, make new friends, you don’t realize how many amazing people are at your school until you’re about to leave them all. Don’t pass up on an opportunity to show your school spirit at sporting events, dance your booty off at school dances, or participate in spirit weeks. Step outside your comfort zone and end your last days at Air Academy with a bang! Take classes that will challenge you, but make sure you’re taking some fun ones too. Add a partial here and there because you’ve worked so hard to get to this point you deserve to relax. Go in with a “heck yeah” mentality and your year is going to be kicking for sure.

When it comes time to apply to colleges don’t overthink or stress yourself out too much, it’s already a high stress situation; you DO NOT want to make it more complicated than it is. Take your time and go at your own pace, don’t let what others are doing influence you. Utilize your teachers and don’t be afraid to ask them for help with essays, applications, or recommendation letters because they are more than happy to help you. Personally, Mrs. Austgen was a life savior when it came to editing, revising, and making sure my essay was nothing less than perfection. The best advice I can give you about the college process is to follow your heart, but don’t wait till the last minute because time will catch up to you. Lastly, put in work and miss hanging out with your friends if you have to during this process, it’s 100% worth it. All the effort and time you will put into applications, essays and scholarships is all worth it once you have those acceptance letters in your hand.

With all the hard work you’ve put in these past four years you can’t stop right as you are about to finish. As excruciatingly painful as it’s going to be to not just blow off everything once you’ve been accepted into college, you have to suffer through and at least show up to class a few days a week and occasionally turn in some homework. Along with the privilege of being a senior, you have to act like properly, which means catching the senoritis bug at least a little bit. Don’t do your homework one night and go to a sporting event instead, get “called” out of class to go on an afternoon adventure with you friends, but most importantly have fun! As cliché as this sounds…. time flies and you can’t take a second of your time walking Air Academy’s halls for granted. Take it from someone who was so focused on leaving and getting to the college life, that the next thing I knew its the week of my graduation and I didn’t take advantage of my time and the opportunity’s that high school provided me with. Learn from my mistake and go HAM your senior year, soaking up every last second of it making sure you regret nothing. Once a Kadet, always a Kadet, so make sure to cheer extra loud, dance a little harder, and hug your friends a little tighter for me next year. My best wishes to you Seniors, class of 2018, I know you guys are going to make next year L17!