It’s Christmas in March for seniors: gifts in the form of college acceptance letters flood mailboxes… and school, for seniors, is out.

Even though an entire quarter of the 2018-2019 school year remains, as seniors begin to land in their future academic homes, motivation and desire to perform in their final high school classes fades day by day.

Graduation announcements get sealed, stamped and sent to relatives. It all begins to feel real.

Teachers of seniors attempt to keep students engaged by pressing on through the curriculum and continuing to demand excellence. It’s an admirable, albeit unrealistic, standard to have.

It’s not apathy, necessarily. Throughout my four years at Roseville High School, I’ve been surrounded by friends and fellow students who have consistently worked hard in classes and extracurriculars alike. Yet we’re all beginning to feel senioritis kick in.

Change is coming for seniors and fast. Whether we’re staying in the Roseville area, moving to a different part of California, or leaving the state altogether, six months from now our lives will be vastly different. The long term is all that’s on our brains.

The short term feels pointless and quite frankly, irrelevant.

As I dig through the mail each day, foaming at the mouth at the sight of a large envelope, or pouring through my email in search of a “Congratulations!” in the subject line, my microeconomics homework regarding the effect of tariffs on the U.S. economy seems unnecessary.

The class isn’t boring and the material is incredibly useful, but the now of high school is completely underwhelming to focus on when the rest of our lives hang in the balance. And after the grueling process of applying to colleges while staying on track in our classes, some of us feel that a break is warranted.

But college isn’t coming any sooner and high school isn’t ending any faster. Teachers have an obligation to teach us until the term is up and though they have the added challenge of trying to get through to a plethora of students who have checked out, they press on.

As the last quarter of my high school career begins, I’ve decided to check back in.

I’m ridiculously excited, nervous and overwhelmed for what the future has in store for me, but I refuse to let my last bit of high school pass by without so much as a second glance.

College is on the horizon. But soon I’ll miss the struggle of getting into the Berry Lot, the narrow avoidance of Lake Roseville, or the long walk from admin to P-35. So for now, if you see seniors walking to class a bit slower, looking around a bit more, or laughing a bit louder, let them take it all in.

I’m going to miss Roseville High School, between teachers, friends and the opportunities I’ve found, but I’m not going to miss it before it’s over. And I’m not going to attempt to remember when it’s too late.

Living in the present means doing my homework, enjoying every second of my last high school musical, buying my senior ball dress and studying for AP exams.

It means spending time with friends, old and new, visiting past teachers and thanking the ones I have. It means being as little of a pain as I can be to my parents, who have been there through each step of the process.

There will be days when the senioritis hits harder than others. The temptation to think ahead and live in the future may win out over present moment attention, but I at least know I’m here.

Letters may flood my mailbox and emails may come through, but until I hear my name and walk across the graduation stage, I’m a Roseville High School student.

Nothing more, nothing less.