It's the first day of school, the first day of senior year to be exact, it's the year of change, the year before you fly out (or get kicked out, in my case) of the nest, the year before college, and the last year you'll get to see all of your friends together in one room. It's also the easiest, and most relaxed year, everybody tells you.

However, if you ask me, I'd tell you senior year is nothing like the way people described it to be. Especially if you're a student of the IB diploma. It's the hardest year, it’s also one of the last few most important moments of your education before it's time to find a job and provide for your family. Senior year is the year where you start applying for colleges, FAFSA, scholarships, and kissing the butts of your teachers as you beg them to write you a recommendation letter (something you should have done even in the years before). And once again, if you're in an IB school, senior year will be the year where all of your classes are the hardest, they'll range from SL classes to HL classes. You'll beg and cry for your parents to let you switch out of Diploma and do certificate (in my case, let me change schools).

It's not all bad though, despite the way I'm making it sound, I promise. Senior year will be the most fun, you won't necessarily get away with everything, but because you'll know most of the teachers there, you can get away with certain things that the "fresh meat" won't. Senior year, while the teachers will be more academically challenging, they won't be as hard on you on other things (wink, wink). Senior year is the year where you'll go to Homecoming, Cotillion (if you're one of those people, nothing bad against ya'll), Prom, and finally, Graduation. Senior year is the year you've been waiting for since the first day of your Freshman year. You want to graduate and get out of school as fast as possible. You want to start your life, get married, and pop a couple of little ones before you're 30. Senior year is also the year where you'll be the one underclassmen look up to and respect, the one where it doesn't matter what you do, they'll still look up at you like you're a God. The ones where underclassmen will feel lucky to have your attention, even if it's just for a few seconds. And last, but certainly not least (I almost forgot about this one, if I'm going to be honest), Senior year will mean the one, the only, SENIOR PRANKS!!! You'll get to pull the stunts people years before you had done (that you most likely made fun of because you always thought you could do better), and you'll get away with it, too.

So, like I said, while Senior year will be the hardest, it'll also be the most lenient in areas that don't involve academia. Enjoy being a senior while it lasts, because soon enough, you'll be at the bottom of the food chain again, once the next school year starts.