As the future is quickly approaching, all we want to do is grab the reigns and take charge, but unfortunately, this is not possible. The future is one great big unknown, full of defining moments and decisions that we would give anything to control.

To be in control is everything for us. However, giving control to the college admission representatives that decide our future for the next four years is absolutely terrifying.

It is mid-April, and your top school posts an Instagram of them stuffing the mail trucks. Anxiety hits as you eagerly wait for the mailman to come deliver the letter.

The next big date — May 1st, rapidly approaches soon after all your acceptances. The fear of picking the wrong school overwhelms you with thoughts of “what-if.”

Once you make the decision you believe is right, you have to find a roommate. There is a big joke that choosing a roommate feels like online dating, which it literally does. Trying to find a short and sweet way to describe yourself in about 50-70 words on Facebook is way more difficult than you think.

As you scroll through your feed, finding a roommate who is both social and studious might be hard. Sometimes “about me” bio on Facebook is too good to be true, so you get scared and keep scrolling. Starting and keeping a conversation with someone you just met over the phone is extremely difficult. What emoji’s and questions can you ask that help you get to know a prospect, but are not creepy?

Once you find your roommate, you are relieved and think that everything is all set and done.

Wrong! Senioritis just gotten ten times worse: your roommate is texting you ideas of possible themes and color schemes for your room, all your best friends know where they are going, and the countdown to graduation begins. Where did this year go?

If you thought that nerves would settle after all of this is done, you are wrong. Now the real nerves start to set in–between move in, rush, meeting new friends and adjusting to your new city, school and classes. It is scary to imagine a life away from home with new people and a new schedule. FaceTime is about to be our new best friend to keep up with those we love and have known forever.

As high schoolers, we have to work toward our future while we plan our future. This creates a feeling that the weight of the world is on your back for people like me who are so nit-picky about everything.

Doing homework, studying for tests, taking the SAT and ACT, joining clubs, participating in sports, maintaining a social life and so many other things is what makes up our day. We juggle all this while trying our best to maintain the best GPA possible for our future. When our grade drops from a 91% to an 89.4% it feels like something breaks inside and a rush of defeat overcomes us.

A decline in grades is like the straw that breaks the camel’s back. If you are the type A personality that I am, this is hard to cope with. You blame yourself for everything that you could have done and put yourself through sleepless nights in order to recover from the grade drop.

These issues can creep into our non-academic lives as well. We try our best to control everything however, at times we have to let it all out. And that is okay.

One thing that we have found that is helpful for times of anxiety is to block out unnecessary thoughts, try our hardest to distract ourselves and remind ourselves that we are here in this moment and have nowhere else to be but here.

These tips can change an entire day and I hope if you find yourself in a similar situation, you use them.