Setting Sail...

As the class of 2014 moves toward graduation, it’s hard not to feel a little nostalgic about how far we’ve come. Even the most stubborn of us have changed: Sam went from a boy who wears basketball shorts to a man who wears cargo shorts, while Jones settled from a free-spirited, blue-haired militant vegetarian to a pretentious academic.Despite what many choose to believe, high school does change a person, and we are no exception. We’ve all struggled with the stress of our academic and social climates, and we’ve all been altered as a result. Whether Samo nurtured you into a beautiful butterfly or hammered you into a dull nail, Samo has played a significant role in our lives. Samo’s been all right to us, in the end. It may have lacked the cult-like feel of “High School Musical” and the drama of “Mean Girls,” but it certainly made up for that with first-class restrooms.In all seriousness, we’ve learned a lot. Many ditched their first classes, and many had their first great teachers here. Both of us found a real community in Journalism, as others did with music, art and sports. We made some great friends and some great enemies. One of us gossiped and schemed while the other sheepishly avoided conflict. One of us pulled all-nighters while the other smug jerk sat with his paper neatly typed ahead of time. And of course, we mastered the art of BS.As seniors, it’s a lot to think about. The sheer amount of stuff that happened to us because of Samo, good or bad, is too much to imagine. So yes, despite our teenage gift for apathy, we do feel nostalgic. And we aren’t the least bit ashamed of it.Despite the kamikaze seagulls, the ever-changing administration and the unfortunately Nazi-esque school salute, we have come to feel at home at Samo. This school has been the backdrop for some of the most formative years of our lives, and it seems we are leaving it when we have become the most comfortable with it.However, neither Sam nor Jones had ideal senior years. We, like many, got swept up in the stress of college and coursework and that constant waiting. It would be so easy to tell you all that your senior years have to be just like ours, to brush this letter off entirely.But we’d feel bad.So for all of you still trapped in this institution of stress and grudging learning, here are a few points on how to enjoy senior year.Pour yourself into extracurriculars you care about. This is the most important advice we can give. These activities can be anything, from volunteering to playing an instrument to working. As long as you have something to keep you going through April and May, when “Senioritis” is at its peak, then you’ll survive.Of course, most of your senior years will be dominated by college applications. You’ve probably heard a few tips on these, but here are some more that Sam and Jones wish they had followed:Get your applications done early. The Common Application comes out Aug. 1, and there’s no reason you can’t start your personal statement before then. Trust us, you don’t want to be juggling college essays with schoolwork, especially when you factor in the time it takes to edit a good essay.Apply early if you can. If your dream school has a much higher early acceptance rate than regular acceptance, you should apply early. This will demonstrate interest in the school and possibly give you a better shot, especially if you have family who have gone to the school. However, if you’re reliant on financial aid and need to compare packages from different schools, you should apply regular decision. Even if you apply regular decision, though, it never hurts to let a college know it’s your top choice.Apply to a sizable number of colleges. This year was the worst year yet for admission rates, and next year will probably be even worse (we mean this in the nicest way possible). Even if you’re confident about your schools, you should apply to a large number of colleges. Both Sam and Jones ended up choosing schools that they almost didn’t apply to.Finally, get ready for rejections and the waitlists. For many overachievers, the college process can be the first time you deal with real rejection. No one is guaranteed a spot at a competitive college, and even if you’re confident, plan for the worst.And for those of you, who have just come out of the process, remember your college experience is what you make of it. It may seem like a cliché written on rejection letters but in truth where you go to school is far less important than what you do once you get there. The college admissions process does not define you as a person.Personally, we’ve both been fighting the onset of nostalgia. It’s hard not to look at our memories through a filter, and even though we realize that we have both good and bad memories, we also can see how far we’ve come from those puny little freshmen. Samo has gotten us through some of the hardest years in our life, and it’s hard to see it objectively.Still, we’ve settled on something. Samo may not be like the shining, sterile high schools of Disney or even the pure place of learning our parents hope it is. It’s not perfect by any stretch. But it has seen us through our high school years.And we would not change our experience. Except for the restrooms, like seriously guys.