Title: 3 Lessons for High School Seniors From a College Senior

Bennie Chang (SFS’26) is a Georgetown Storyteller from San Jose, California, and studies regional & comparative studies, art and international business diplomacy.

When I think about my senior year of high school, two images come to mind. Walking home from school, completely consumed by the college application cycle. How can I forget sitting in the local park with my best friend decorating our graduation caps. Together, they represent the unnecessary pressure I put on myself in an otherwise marvelous year. As I am about to graduate, I am trying my best to not stumble in the same potholes and to embrace the wonders that the final year of school brings.

As senior year progresses, here are a few things that I am holding on to:

1. Seek Peace in Uncertainty

The final year of school is filled with uncertainty. Waiting for college application results is nerve-racking. Once results come in, the cycle of uncertainty will repeat. What will leaving home (potentially, for the first time) feel like? Will I make friends? What if I am not cut out for the rigors of this new chapter?

I am asking similar questions, and I admit that I sometimes find it easier to avoid them altogether. Out of sight, out of mind, right? However, as I reflect on high school, I am comforted knowing that I have made it through once and will again—because what other choice do we have? While I struggled with impatience for decisions, I persevered through the countdown. I calmed my anxieties of moving for college as I journeyed through Georgetown with some of the best friends I could have asked for.

The worries I grappled with made me a more resilient person. However, ruminating took up mental energy I could have spent actually living my life. Rather than stressing about the future, I am trying to find peace in uncertainty, acknowledging that sometimes there is nothing more I can do about a situation. In that case, I might as well just live the life I have right now.

2. Do What You Love

I feel free right now writing this blog. Yes, I do have an endless supply of homework and readings to complete. However, I am also a second-semester senior with more freedom than ever. Truly dangerous levels of freedom. You likely will too. You won’t be fully constrained by the college application process anymore. Maybe you will take on a part-time job? Or start binge-watching that television series your friends have been shaming you for not watching? Perhaps going on side-quests with friends (but not during school time, of course)?

In high school, I doubled down on journalism by writing more for my student newspaper. Now, I am researching housing policy in Hong Kong and my hometown of San Jose. After each day, I am exhausted, but the thesis research, classes and chats with experts make it worthwhile. No matter what it is that excites you, I dare you to join me in the quest for exhilarating, energy-producing fun (don’t roll your eyes at me. Housing is exciting!).

3. Reflect on Your Relationships 

I graduated from high school thinking that I had the social battery to maintain all my friendships. However, I only regularly keep in touch with 4 close friends.

Why do I bring this up? Because I spent so much time in my senior year trying to be friends with everyone, thinking that the more the merrier. But I wish I spent even more time with the people I cared for the most. I still call my best friend weekly. The joy of visiting friends in college and hosting them in DC is precious. However, these moments are transient and rare. I am jealous of you, mere minutes away from your childhood friends. Maybe you are even reading this while your best friend shovels lunch into their mouth!

Friends are a huge part of your life, but I would regret not mentioning parents, siblings, grandparents and other loved ones in your life. For me, my parents are a couple of the most important people in my life. This article made me realize that I will never in my life spend as much time with them again than I did before college. Who are those for you? Sometimes, you don’t have to look too far to find them.

Now, I choose to spend my time with my closest friends, cherishing food-filled restaurant adventures and late-night birthday celebrations. Believe it or not, I even voluntarily FaceTime my parents (occasionally)!

As you move forward in your senior year, I wish you the best of luck. Take in the joy, and try not to let the stress consume you, or at least all of you. I hope you walk home from school excited to do what you love. Perhaps when you sit in the local park with your best friend to decorate your graduation caps, you will be one step closer to finding peace in uncertainty. If so, please let me in on your secret!