Enjoying the present, while planning for the future

My name is Hailey Marcus and I am a senior at Lawrence High School. I don’t know what I was expecting when I entered Lawrence on the first day of my senior year, perhaps a choreographed musical number a la “High School Musical?”
Even though that never happened — to my extreme disappointment — I couldn’t help feeling excited at the fact that I have a new year, filled with wonderful activities in front of me. Even with a rigorous course load of five Advanced Placement classes, I still felt that it was necessary to celebrate a new beginning.
Of course, it’s always hard when summer ends. Netflix and sleeping-in-late, I sure do miss you. I thoroughly enjoyed my lazy summer, so it is hard to immediately be tossed into a world filled with studying, homework, extracurricular activities and college applications.
Since the beginning of my freshman year, I have been an avid participant of Model Congress, Key Club, and my high school’s orchestra. I am proud to say that I hold board positions in both Model Congress and Tri-Music Honor Society. Music and Model Congress are more than activities to me; they are a way of life.
Between planning to make this year the biggest success these clubs have ever seen with my other board members and doing my schoolwork — senioritis hasn’t quite settled in yet — I can be found stressing over college applications. Had I started the application process over the summer (Netflix and laziness, I blame you), I would have been in a much better place than the one I am now.

However, I prefer it this way. The summer was a time for freedom, and now it is time to settle down and get serious. I may stay up late to fit everything in and sure, being tired has become part of my personality, but that is the price one must pay for being a well-rounded student.
As for my academic plans? I have been told recently that “marrying rich” is not a viable career option, which is, to put it mildly, totally crushing. However, I do have a backup plan. I plan to major in history or journalism in college. I don’t know what I want to do with my life quite yet, but that’s okay. I plan on going to a college with many different options and majors, to figure out what I want to do and who I want to be.
My future is mine, and I want to make it a great one. In the wise words of Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” I plan on stopping and looking around throughout my senior year and making the most of the time I have left at Lawrence High. I can’t wait for the future, but for now I’m enjoying life in the present.