There’s no doubt that it’s college decision season. In the past couple of weeks, many students have already announced which schools they will be attending.  In the coming months, both Early and Regular Decision results are coming out. Although it may seem all fun and games from the outside, in all honesty, there are some tensions I have noticed among the senior class that highlight a bigger issue than just an acceptance letter.

It’s natural to compare yourself to others, and the college process is certainly not free of those comparisons. When you hear the top tier schools everyone is getting into, it makes you a little bit nervous, and maybe even feel a little less confident in your own academics. Comparison especially comes into play when you apply to the same school as another senior. Ultimately, you are face to face in a battle of grades, essays, and extracurriculars. It can be nerve wracking to wait, wondering who’s going to get in and who’s not. If you apply to your dream school and watch others get in, but perhaps you receive a deferral or rejection, you might find yourself comparing yourself to those who took priority over you. These feelings aren’t uncommon, but your attitude is what matters.

You can decide how you react to these things. You could be bitter and unhappy, or you could try your best to be happy for the people who get accepted to their schools. Just because you didn’t get the decision you were hoping for doesn’t mean you can’t acknowledge other students’ hard work paying off.

As seniors, we really are in this together. Right about now, we’re learning about our futures. Although it may seem a little uncertain at the moment, our colleges and majors will influence our lives in countless ways. It’s not just a select few of us — it’s all of us. We’re all starting new chapters of our lives. We all share feelings of fear for the future, excitement and anxiety to hear back from our schools, and hope for our lives after high school. We all feel a little lack of motivation for the infamous second semester, and we all are thinking about what it’s going to be like to leave our hometown and friends. So let’s all just hold onto these last moments of Lake Forest High School, be happy for each other, and try our best because soon enough, we won’t be seniors anymore, we will be back on the bottom of the heap as freshmen.