There is something timeless about the first day of school — the energy in the air is unlike any other. It may be your first day as a student on campus or your fourth and final time starting classes in the fall. We are all the same in that we are starting the first day of the rest of the year. Regardless of your age, something is still exciting about the first day.

Each year of college is great. But I think there is some truth to the statement that “your first and your last years of school will be your best.” Allow me to explain.

Freshman year and senior year may seem like night and day. Because they are. I can speak for most of my friends when I say that a freshman in college is in a completely different place in their life than a senior in college.

I may be only a week into my year as a senior on this campus, but I can already tell that the excitement of this year will mirror that of freshman year. Both have this sense of urgency. As a freshman, it is the urgency to become a part of this campus. As a senior, it is the urgency to do everything you want before you are no longer a part of this campus.

Both years in school reflect a sort of unity within your graduating class. As freshmen, we were all in this together. Everything was new and exciting, and there was a sense of camaraderie between the newbies on campus. We lived together in our dorms, ate together in the cafeterias and went to every home football game.

Things switch as the years progress. As sophomores and juniors, you begin to find your niche of friends, you decide on a major, and you become a part of something. You learn about yourself, and you learn where you fit on this campus.

When you become a senior, there is a return to that sense of camaraderie that you felt as a freshman. The drive to have fun and get the most out of each experience becomes heightened as you realize that this is the last time you will start class in the fall. This is your last welcome week, your last Quad Day and your last set of home football games.

The more the merrier is the theme I see being played out this year. Everyone wants to spend time with each other in big groups. We know that the year will fly by, so we decide early on that this year will be different. We will stay up later, make fewer excuses and appreciate everything that goes hand in hand with being college students for the last time.

As seniors, we may feel miles away from our freshman selves, but if we look hard enough, we will see that they are still in there somewhere. You may not wear your lanyard around your neck anymore and you may live in an apartment, but chances are, you are still excited for what this year has in store. Perhaps even more so than when you first stepped on to campus wondering what to expect from your college years.

_Jordan is a senior in AHS. She can be reached at [email protected]._