Dedicated fans have probably noticed I haven’t much of anything lately. It’s not because I don’t care about you; it’s because I’ve become lazy. See, high school has sucked. Every day that I’m in this building, I feel like I’m a sheep being herded by bells from classroom to classroom. I sit down in my assigned seat and am talked at for about an hour, and then I move across the building to another room where I sit down and am talked at for another hour. I’m not trying to say that the classes are too easy and that I don’t feel “intellectually challenged.” I’m trying to say that I just don’t care about most of the classes. Truthfully, I’ve only enjoyed learning the material of three classes (and I’ve had as many good teachers). Thankfully, I still love learning about subjects that matter to me. It’s just the system we have for high schools is ridiculous. I can’t stand it, and yet I’ve endured four years of it. Today will be my last day, and I want you all to personally remind me to thank God that this is over. Now, it’s time for some advice. If you plan on doing illicit activities (and by if I hope I mean when ), I won’t try to stop you. But from personal experience, choose your accomplices carefully. Do you want the trustworthy guy who will take the bullet for you, knowing you would do the same, or do you want the guy who will rat you out at the slightest bit of pressure? This should be obvious, but take a break for your second semester of your senior year. If you’re an A student, get some B’s (even the most elite schools won’t rescind your acceptance if you get a few B’s). If you’re a B student, get some C’s. If you skip two days of the week, start skipping three days of the week. If you at any point freak out about or are on the verge of being overwhelmed by school, you have done something seriously wrong. When you hit your second semester, things should change. You should start prioritizing your time differently. Instead of studying for that test, get some sleep. Instead of doing that Spanish assignment, bake yourself some cookies. Maybe stop working on that lab and start seeing your friends again. Get inspired by Ferris Bueller’s Day Off . If you have already been doing these fun activities since freshman year, then keep carrying on sir/madam. If you haven’t, these are all possible because your second semester doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t. If you’re going to college, you’ll have the opportunity to learn all the material again next year, and if you’re not, you’ll never need to know most of the high school curriculum for the entire span of your life, anyway. I’ll leave you with the words of the great philosophizers Bill and Ted, “Be excellent to each other! And party on” Ames High!