Dear Freshman,

Although you have just begun high school and everything that was new is now routine, things will continue to change throughout the next couple years of high school. Maybe it may be that your friends or your friend group changes, or you decide that one of the extra curricular activities that you participated in is no longer something that you are interested in; it will all work out like it’s supposed to. Your time here at AHS will start to mold you into the person that you are meant to be. Don’t push away the new experiences; embrace them and enjoy high school while it lasts.

Dear Sophomores,

You all are coming to the point in your high school career where everything is being laid on the table. You are all finding where you belong; isn’t it the best feeling? Now, I know that it seems as though your sophomore year is the time to figure out where you want to go to college or what you want to do, but it’s not. There is still plenty of time to sit back and enjoy high school before plunging into your future. Enjoy everything while you still have the time to enjoy it. Sooner or later, you guys will be in the senior’s shoes, and then you can look forward and not entirely back.

Dear Juniors,

Senioritis comes early, doesn’t it? You all feel as though you are ready to get out of high school, start college, and move on with your lives. Slow down! Within a year, you all will be taking your senior pictures, applying to colleges, applying for scholarships, and finally getting to walk across that stage. For now, hold onto high school. Kick that senioritis in the butt. Before you know it, you will be a senior, and you will be experiencing all of your lasts. If you don’t know what you want to do with your life after high school, it’s okay. I didn’t truly know until the spring of my junior year. Let things fall into place. If you do know, that’s okay too. It is also okay to be looking at colleges. Your future is bright, and most of all, important. Don’t be so willing to leave high school yet. Have some fun.

Dear Seniors,

This is it. We are almost done with our last first semester of high school. Most of us have had senioritis since we were sophomores and maybe even freshmen. We are experiencing those lasts, everyday. As we start to figure out where we want to go to college and what we want to do, we are going to start to separate. There is that overhanging cloud that is the breaking up of friendships, but they don’t have to end just because of attending different colleges. We have experienced so much together as a class that it would be a shame if some of us did not keep in touch after high school.

As we are soon going to begin our last semester of high school, senioritis may be kicking in; remember that this is it. Soon, it will be our last day of high school, the last time we see our friends in the hall or have our favorite teacher in class. Soon, we will be having senior breakfast and walking across the stage to get our diplomas and then celebrating afterwards. It is all coming down to the wire. So slow down, relax, and enjoy the little time that is left here because before we know it, it will be August 2017 and most of us will be starting school, only this time it will be bigger. It will be college.

It is the time of the year to be grateful and thankful for what high school has given you; experiences, memories, friends, skills, knowledge, and so many more things. High school isn’t always torture. It is also some of the best moments in life.

Sincerely,

Senior, Peyton Stoike