I’m this close (pinches fingers) to checking out. It’s a feeling that I’m sure many of us, who are second semester seniors, have; the urge to just do whatever we want and ignore school now that college applications are over and the waiting game is on.

 But I have some motivation for all of you: keep going.

I know, it’s pretty hard. I’ve been struggling with it myself lately. After working all these months (even years) and seeing it all come to a momentous end, I find myself feeling disoriented and confused on what to do before I leave. I have more free time than I’ve had in a long time, and it’s tempting to just take naps and eat snacks all day.

But the lesson I’ve learned recently is something I want to share with you. It’s a piece of wisdom I got from my psychology teacher, Ms. Schullo: the end isn’t where you slack off, it’s where you finish strong.

That really struck me, because I’ve never thought about high school like that before. I figured that I would get “senioritis” and it would be fine because everyone gets it, and colleges don’t care what you do after you submit your application. And, hey, it’s an early start to summer! Who cares? 

Wrong.

Not only do colleges want your final transcript, but they reserve the right to review and even rescind your admission if your performance takes a nosedive. Why sabotage your future for one semester of laziness?

The other reason I’ve thought about is something more important in my eyes. Throughout life, we’re going to face obstacles and overcome them. We’re going to have different journeys, some of them ending well and some ending terribly. And most of us would never slack off during the end of those journeys. 

The final semester of college? The final days of a job before we find out if we’re getting a raise or a promotion? The final hours before we get married? The final weeks before we have children? 

These are moments that we savor, and make the most of them as best we can. So why not do that with high school, too?

I’m going to enjoy these final months at South – the good and the bad. Laughing with my friends, acing (and failing) tests, eating the paninis, prom and graduation. And I think we should all do that.

After all, a journey isn’t just about the destination – but the experiences you have along the way.