I still have not fully processed that this is my last year of high school. The class of 2026 is filled with excitement for the future and we are preparing to begin the rest of our lives.

However, with senior year comes great responsibility–college applications. The Common App screen is practically burnt onto our phones and computers! The college essay seriously snuck up when the school year began, and definitely caused some of us to scramble. This is all after college research and matching, deciding whether we want to go away or stay home, and where we think is best to go for our major or career path. On top of it all, we have to continue to earn good grades in all of our high school classes. Sounds overwhelming, doesn’t it?

Thankfully, these past three months of research, work, and decision-making is almost over. Many people have most of their applications submitted, and just have to worry about high school – the present.  For me, the college search and application experience was definitely unlike anything I have ever been through before.

I was unsure whether I wanted to go away or not, and I realized that I wanted to stay home after touring James Madison University. It was gorgeous, and I knew if I didn’t want to go away there, I wouldn’t want to go away anywhere. So for me, it was pretty narrowed down from the start.

Through taking AP Psychology in 11th grade, I had decided that psychology was what I wanted to pursue. So, I applied to several Long Island schools and a few away schools incase I had a change of heart about staying home. Learning that the Common App and Naviance had to be intertwined to apply to colleges was complicated, and so was just filling out the Common App in general! But now, I have already heard back from five schools and I am still waiting to hear from my top choice, Stony Brook University. This process, as stressful as it was, has been very rewarding in the end.

Many other students are also feeling a whirlwind of emotions.

“The whole process is nerve-wracking but also exhilarating as it brings us into new elements of our lives,” East Islip senior Gianna Monroi said.

“The process is stressful but in the end it’s exciting getting to know where I will be the next four years of my life,” East Islip senior Brenden Muller added.

Now, multitudes of students are awaiting decision letters from so many different schools. Whether staying home, going away, studying abroad, or not going to college at all, it is surreal that we will all be parting and beginning new lives after growing up together in East Islip School District.

Although the uncertainty of our futures can be overwhelming, it is important that we remember that no matter what happens, everything will turnout as it is supposed to. As long as we remember and display the very traits that were taught to us when we all began our journeys in kindergarten – kindness, compassion, acceptance, respect, and friendliness – we will find success anywhere life may take us.