“Dear Arden,

How do you deal with the idea that all of us will be graduating and friends will all be going to places all over?”

   -Sentimental Senior

Dear Sentimental,

Ah, a fellow senior. I have very much not dealt with that idea yet, so we are in this together. 

Graduation is May 24. That is, unfortunately, the reality. For me, senior year so far has had this weird push and pull – times where I really wish we were closer to graduation, and times where I really wish it would never come. The good news for both of us is that there are still a couple solid months between now and graduation – not so many that they’ll seem to drag by slowly, but not so little that there’s not time to enjoy them.

So, what can you do about it? Well, for starters, don’t put too much pressure on yourself to “make the most of your final moments in high school” or whatever it is they do in those movies. You don’t have to do anything crazy; just hang out with your friends when you feel like it and have a good time. I think the hardest part of that is balancing the remaining schoolwork and scholarship essays with enjoying your time in high school – once again, the weird push and pull of needing to focus on the future but also wanting to make the most of the present.

And so, think of this time as you standing near the edge of a cliff, getting ready to hop on a paraglider and glide into the unknown. Of course it’s going to be hard to make that jump – you don’t want to risk losing the beautiful view you have from the cliffside – but jumping will result in an even nicer view as you glide. And the cliff isn’t going to just disappear; it will always be back there to welcome you home. Just as the cliff will remain even after you have become more physically distant from it, so will your friendships remain even after everyone has left to pursue distant opportunities.

Therefore, the best possible way to deal with it is to remember that this is not the end. If you want to make it work, you can always find ways to make time for your friends, whether that be calling them or trying to meet them in-person during holiday breaks. 

But, for now, the way I deal with the idea of everyone graduating is that I remember that distance has not stopped my friends before. We have a thriving group chat in which are two people from Georgia (one of our friends moved here from Georgia and we’ve gotten to know her friends), a freshman at Texas Tech (she graduated from Carroll last year and even came back to see us at our homecoming party), and our friend who moved to Houston sophomore year (he’s come back for both of our homecoming parties and will be coming with us to prom). If we’ve managed to keep in contact with them despite their distance, then there’s no reason to assume that we can’t continue to keep in touch, and I hope the same will be true for you.

And so, my primary piece of advice? Don’t worry about it. If you’re feeling emotional about it, let yourself feel those emotions, of course, but don’t let them or any expectations you may have get in the way of just enjoying these final moments of senior year, because it’s not really the end.

Wishing you all the best,

Arden