Most of the class of 2020 may have not yet adjusted to being seniors, but regardless of whether or not most of the 430 seniors this year are prepared to go on to bigger things, doesn’t change the fact that graduation is almost 300 days away. As we scramble to finish brag sheets, take last-minute SAT’s and finish common applications, the heat gets turned up, and it’s difficult to even feel “ready” for your calculus test next Wednesday. 

The scariest part though is probably the unknown. We’ve taken for granted, the last three years, the predictability of prediction, of knowing what classes to take, who teaches them and who’ll be in them. This year, it isn’t the same. Most of us search the hallway for members of the class of 2019 who have long gone away to fulfill future plans. It slips our mind that they’re gone and we avoid thinking about how it will soon be ourselves being searched for. 

Who knows how you’ve decided to spend your years at Athens. Maybe you went to every football game and were nominated for prom court. Maybe you made straight A’s. Maybe you didn’t. Whatever your scores, or GPA, whoever your friends are, or what clubs you were in, this year can be a time to look back. and look forward. Yes, the future has no guarantee, but why stress out about things that haven’t happened yet? Why mourn a college rejection when it hasn’t yet come? Do the best you can to represent yourself both on paper and in your interactions at school, as someone you’d be glad to know. Be Kind. Do your best. Be understanding. 

Whether you ever thought Athens was the place for you. Whether you have tons of school spirit or if you can’t wait to leave, No matter how you were treated, regardless of the generalizations others have made about you, rise above. Have a good year for your own sake, not that of the school’s legacy, nor the legacy of a program you were a part of. Learn more about yourself as best as you can. It’s gonna be a stressful next few months but we’ve made it this far, right?