By Andrew Thompson ‘19

The final countdown. The last straw. The last dance.

Senior year.

Spoiler alert: senior is not all fun and games, at least not at the beginning. The first half of senior year consists of stressing over college applications while still maintaining grades, playing sports and hanging out with friends. It’s stressful.

Through the stress, make sure you still keep a cool head and enjoy all of your “lasts” as a senior. Your last Marist football game, last homecoming dance and last Christmas concert. Try your best to cherish these moments and be with people you enjoy. Make memories.

Winter break comes along and the stress follows. Now, you just have to wait patiently while colleges judges you to see if you can enter into their school. Your holiday consists of family asking you where you are going. You’ll be asked this question all the time. ALL THE TIME!

If you applied early action, you’ll find out where you have gotten in during winter break. It feels amazing when you get your first acceptance. However, the stress continues because you need to see what college is the best fit for you out of the ones who admitted you.

The second semester is a total different feeling than the first semester. It is less stressful, more fun and more relaxing. This is the time when you realize your time at Rice is truly coming to an end.

You still complete all your work; however, there is less stress hanging over your head knowing you are going to college. Your grades still matter, but you don’t feel as obligated to stay up super late to study for a test in the morning.

As May approaches, you get a little sentimental about your time at Rice. I guess that is why I am writing this in the first place: to reflect. As a senior, you appreciate the man Brother Rice has made you.

You enter as a freshman boy who doesn’t know much, and you leave confident, intelligent and well-rounded.

Teachers.

Rice teachers care more about you than you may think. Sure, they may have given you a test on a Monday or even assigned a project you thought was pointless; however, I owe almost all of my academic skills to the men and women of Edmund Rice.

Your last day at Rice is weird. It’s all you have know for the last four years and now you have to leave. Take the time to say thank you to the teachers who have impacted you the most.

Prom is the light at the end of the tunnel. Let me tell you, Prom is a blast. Prom is not like homecoming. You don’t show up with your date after a few pictures and then ditch her once you get in.

At prom, you actually dance. Not mosh, but actually dance. It is a blast. You get to eat a nice meal with all of your friends who are dressed to the nines, bust a move on the dance floor and then hang out with your friends the next day.

After prom… you graduate. I can’t tell you much about that because I haven’t experienced yet.

My only advice to juniors and underclassmen is to enjoy senior year and make it your own. Everyone has a different vision for how they want their senior year to go. Find what you want and find people you enjoy. That is how to have the best senior year possible.

Live Jesus is our hearts, forever.