At the end of last year, I wrote an article on my anxiety when it came to starting my senior year. I wrote about my anxiety of being at that age that seems so far away when you’re 14. How those two numbers at the start of your school email are suddenly right there, just around the corner. Now that I’ve hit that point and actually started my senior year, I’m learning that while there are some parts of it that are stressful, they won’t be if you learn how to manage and control your time and energy.

     A big part of what I talked about in my previous article was what I wanted to do after graduation. I don’t remember exactly why I was so stressed about it last year, but I realize that senior year so far has been way easier than I thought. I have filled out two college applications via CommonApp, which has made my life infinitely easier. It’s super helpful to look at one centralized list of schools and what applications I have/have not completed. As a matter of fact, those two applications I already submitted should have a decision made on them by the end of this month. I realized that I did want to go to school to study acting and writing, and these two schools are very good for that, though they are outside of Missoula.

     I have learned that depending on what you’ve done during previous years, your senior year can be pretty easy. I have two free periods and all the time to focus on things like essays or other applications. I only need Government and English 4 to graduate and everything else is just because I wanted to, and it’s such a good position to be in. I suggest doing all the needed classes first during your freshman and sophomore years and then you can have your junior and senior years to have fewer classes and do more of what you want. It may suck having to do math first thing in the morning or be stuck in back-to-back semesters of PE, but it’s worth it in the long run.

     Senior year so far hasn’t been anything to worry about. Yes, I was super anxious about it, and it makes sense if you’re a junior and not knowing what happens next, but you don’t need to worry. You made it this far and everything will all turn out fine.