By Rosemary Boeglin
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It is the start of a new year. Breathe in, breathe out. This year is my last year in high school, my last year living at home, and very likely my last year as a full time resident of Indiana.

Sometimes the thought that I only have two more semesters doing the only thing I have known for the past 11 years is a scary one. The truth is, I have woken up at approximately 6:30 a.m. and gone home at approximately 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday for 9 months out of the year for as long as I can remember.

This year, though, will be the end of it. I am making the conscious decision now to live this year with the same commitment as I have my previous 11. I vow to stay active in my extra-curricular activities and in my academic pursuits. I vow to commit my thoughts to other topics than ‘when I am going to be able to get out of this place.’ I also vow to not spend my time as a Senior talking about how I am in fact a Senior, because the truth is that it is just another grade in high school. We are all participating in a very similar existence, at least during school hours.

But, Senioritis is real. I had it for the second half of my junior year. It did not help that at least half, if not more, of my friends were seniors last year. I seemed to fool myself into thinking that it was also my last year. During application deadlines for last years seniors I would go online and look at colleges and universities, trying to choose between which ones I liked the best and which ones were worth studying for the SAT. At the end of the year I would find myself thinking how much I wanted to graduate and start doing something new. Having people around me all the time that were getting ready to leave made me ready to leave, too.

The whole time, though, I was only fooling myself. And to prove it, here I am. In CHS. In Carmel, Indiana. Getting up and going home at approximately the same time Monday through Friday that I have been for the past 11 years.

And I am deciding that I am not going to make that as depressing as it might sound, by disallowing myself to fantasize about a change that will come soon enough. I can have fun and be productive this year right where I am, doing the things that I have enjoyed doing in the past and trying new experiences, too.

I have plenty of great friends who are still here and now plenty of great friends to travel to go see. I will keep myself occupied and remember that even though it is sometimes difficult to see the bright side, there is one to be found in every situation if you look hard enough.

Rosemary Boeglin is managing editor for the HiLite.