Change. We heard that word constantly this year. I spent the fall of my senior year working on the Obama campaign and change is definitely part of my life as a senior. I know my life will be totally different next year. I won't attend the same school or live in the same place as most of my fellow graduates. Some, I'll never even see again.

At the beginning of senior year, everybody asks, "Where did you apply?" before some of us had even started applying to colleges. Having devoted weekends during the fall volunteering for my candidate's presidential campaign, I didn't get around to mailing my applications until mid-November. Rejection from one school feels worse than all the good feeling of being accepted to lots of other schools put together. Choosing a college is a leap of faith, since I won't really know what it's like until I've been there awhile.

Classes were harder senior year. Freshman year barely felt like a step above eighth grade. Seniors take three, four, even five Advanced Placement classes. AP tests are expensive, $86 each this year. And most AP classes mean at least 60 to 90 minutes of homework every day - usually reading. They are mostly based on tests so if you're a bad test taker, you're pretty much out of luck.

Senior year isn't just supposed to be about classes and applications. It's supposed to be about fun, and that includes more than just the prom. Seniors get new leadership roles and are given special privileges. Some of us captain sports teams and preside over clubs (or in my case, serve as editor of the Black and Gold, the student newspaper).
I have mixed emotions about my senior year ending. Sure, the idea of starting college IS exciting. I'll choose the courses I want to take, pick my own major, and live on my own, away from my parents' rules. I'll make my own schedule and be responsible for getting myself everywhere. I'll get to know a new town and have new off-campus activities to try.

But there are sad things about high school ending. Senior year is full of enjoying activities to the fullest. When we do something for the last time - a concert, game, or meeting - seniors often are recognized. But that's when it hits me: the sense of belonging and connection that we won't have any more.

Anxiety persists when colleges start sending their flood of forms: housing, financial aid, etc. It's easy to wonder: how can I pay all this off? Luckily, we don't have to yet. We can just enjoy the year and enjoy college. I know I'll never get these opportunities again, and senior year went by fast. So I try to live in the moment. I know change is coming; there's no way to avoid it. But change is not always bad. It can open up new opportunities. The change we high school seniors are about to see is beginning a new chapter in our lives.

Simone Quartell, a member of the Heights High Class of 2009, volunteered at Reaching Heights as part of her Senior Project. She will attend Kent State University in the fall.