Be cool, be hot, be weird, it's just four years

In less than 3 days, I'll be in the fourth quarter of my Junior year.
In a little over 2 months, I'll be done with my Junior year.
In a little more than a year, I'll be graduating high school.

Holy. Shit.

Don't get me wrong, I strongly dislike school. I hate the workload, the stupid people you have to deal with, the studying, everything. But where else have I known besides school? Where else have ANY of us known? Technically, we've been in school for about 90% of our lives. And I'm not talking low restrictions, take-responsibility-yourself college type of school; I mean scheduled, here are your teachers, this is when you go to lunch, you HAVE TO GO school. So ultimately, in about a years time, I'll be leaving every comfort zone, every routine, every lifestyle that I've known since before I can remember. That's it. No exceptions. I'm DONE.
Over the summer thoughts will be switched from "where should I get my locker this year?" to "will I even HAVE a locker this year?"; from "I hope I have classes with all my friends" to "am I even going to KNOW anyone?"; and from "I've still got a few more years left" to "I can't believe it's already over."
Sure, I'm excited. College is where all the fun is. It's where we can get away from our parents, restrictions, rules. It's freedom. But am I ready for all that? I don't know. Can I discipline myself to go to classes when no one else will? I don't know. Am I going to be alright? I. Don't. Know.
Every aspect of our lives revolves around high school. All the friends you've made over the years, the teachers you've become close with, the memories you're so fond of; it's all here. Pretty much all of the people I know now I'll never talk to again. Sure, you say you'll keep in touch, but when you're thousands of miles away, it gets so difficult to keep that promise. As horrible as it feels to admit it, I may not even talk to my best friend ever again after this is over. That scares the hell out of me. Everything I could have in my life is out there, but everything that IS my life is right here. I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave it yet.

I can moan and complain about how much I'll miss it here despite how much I want to leave, but ultimately, it's happening. And fast. I guess maybe the reason it's taking me by surprise so much is because when you think of 4 years of high school as that little excited 8th grader, it seems like eternity, and becoming a Senior seems like the unreachable holy grail at the end of eternity. But really, it goes a lot faster than you think. Part of that sucks, but part of it's exciting, and all of it is just how life goes.

So I guess all I can say is "freshmen, hold on, it's only four years long, then it's gone. So be cool, be hot, be weird...it's just four years." <3