From a teen's perspective: Being a graduating senior in 2022

Earlier this year, my friend, sister, and I were driving down Interstate 85S at 10:00pm with the windows down, wind blowing in our hair, and harmonizing with the song “Where’d All the Time Go.” I couldn’t believe how perfectly this moment summarized my feelings: where did all the time go?

Somehow, although I mostly refuse to believe it, my classmates and I are seniors. When I was in sixth grade, our school gave us Chromebook cases with tags on them with our name and graduation year. Mine said, “Sidney Briggs Class of 2022.” This was the first time I remember thinking about the year I would graduate. And, suddenly, it’ll be 2022 in a few days. Where’d all the time go?

I’ve been in denial of this fact for about a year now. At some point last year, I looked at my friend and said, “Time is a social construct.” This friend was used to this kind of stuff coming out of my mouth, although it may seem a bit out of pocket to some. He calmly looked at me and said, “Yes, but you are still going to follow it.” That bit of truth has stuck with me. No matter how much I like to think that I’m still in seventh grade,  I have to follow the concept of time and graduate in six months. 

With this fact partially accepted, what do I do? For me, the first semester of my senior year has been surreal. Suddenly, I’m the oldest in the school, applying to entirely too many colleges, taking six AP classes, leading clubs, and somehow dealing with the fact that I’m leaving next year. It’s been weird. It's been a journey, trying to somehow balance these conflicting emotions, and learning how to enjoy my senior year. Where’d all the time go?

My fellow members of the Class of 2022 have had similar concerns. Many of us are bewildered by how fast this is going. Yet, when I asked for reflections on my Instagram, there was also gratitude shown. Gratitude for our amazing teachers, college counselors, family, and friends. Suddenly, the daunting senior year is upon us, and we are feeling the effects of dealing with a complex combination of joy for new beginnings and experiences, but also sadness for leaving behind what we . 

So, as 2022 nears, I would like to give a bit of advice to those younger than us. Enjoy every single moment you have at school, with your friends, and in your extracurriculars. My first semester has flown by. My older friends went to college. I blinked and now my classmates are getting into college.  For the class of 2023, my friend had this to say, which I thought was very enlightening, “It’s really not as scary as you think! It seems so daunting to be a senior and apply to college when it’s what you’ve been prepped for almost your entire life. Once you are a senior, you realize that it’s just another year with a little extra workload due to the applications. Sure, it’s scary to submit the first application, but after that it just becomes common practice. You have to trust that you will go where you need to go and believe that if a college doesn’t accept you, you wouldn’t have been happy there anyways.”

Once you get past the fear of leaving and applying to college, your confusion at times will not change, but you will be able to accept what you are doing more easily. Taking the time, during this hectic adventure, to enjoy what is going on is important, no matter how much you want to deny it. I am thankful that I get another semester here, and am looking forward to enjoying it as much as I can, in spite of having to turn in more college applications.  Time is weird (and a social construct), but we move along with it, as we can’t change it. So enjoy it, please. Every little action will become a moment you cherish.