To high school seniors: I know you are excited. I know you are ready to get out of the house, to find out where you’ll be going to college or to move out of the house. I know you’re excited to make new friends, to turn 18, to make new memories. I totally get that and I can totally confirm that college will be the best four (or more!) years of your lives if that’s what you want to make it.

But know that you are going to miss this. A lot. So savor it. Savor in the fact that you don’t have to pay rent yet and that your mom probably still cooks for you and that you have a familiar room to go home to each and every day. You are going to miss your parents and your siblings and your friends. You are going to miss the everyday routine. You are going to miss your front yard, and your bed, and the way your dog wakes you up in the morning. You will miss the familiar classrooms and dining area and the graduation that you waited your entire life for will feel like it lasted seconds.

Don’t rush through your “lasts." Your last football game, last volleyball game, last choir concert, last pep rally, last college application, last time living at home…the list goes on. You’re going to mature a lot in your first year of college. You are going to realize that you should have forgiven that friend or made amends with that dumb ex or gone out that one night you were maybe a little too tired.

This is the time to do what you want to do. You are young. You are free. You are thriving and just starting your journey. Let the adventure begin.