It’s senior year. The last year of high school. The last year until I’m living on my own. Watching last years’ seniors move away to college is surreal, but also overwhelmingly scary. That will be me in a year, and, to be honest, I’m not sure if I’m ready for that. I still want to be in high school, to have another year left before I’m an adult entangled in the real world. I need more time before I have to leave this place that I’ve been my whole life. But then I realize, I do still have one more year. And I’m going to have to make it count.

Looking back on my three years of high school, I realize I might not have made them count. Would I change the time that I was too tired to go out to the football game? Or when I just couldn’t make time to help with the banner? Would I go back and ask someone to that dance I didn’t go to? Maybe. But I can’t now. Now I have to make sure that I have no regrets. That there’s nothing I wish I would’ve done when I graduate. Now I have to make this last year of high school worth it. Make it count.

But making senior year count isn’t just about having no regrets when I graduate. It’s about preparing myself to be an adult and living in the real world. It’s about making sure that I’m ready to be in college and ready to be on my own. Senior year is about applying to colleges and deciding what the rest of my life will hold. Making senior year count is bigger than just one year; it’s about making sure I’m set up for all the years to come.

However, the most important part of making senior year count isn’t not having regrets or making sure I’m successful in my future, it’s about making each moment count. Making the days count as they happen because the only time that you can control is the present. The past holds great memories and the future holds great possibilities, but the present holds what is most important: the choices we make to create those memories and fulfill those dreams. So make it count. Every day is a day that could soon be a great memory, but only you can make that happen.