The curtains of the 2015 school year are already beginning to close, and many students are already leaving the stage when their act isn’t even close to being over. That’s right, this is the home stretch, the last leg, the last mile.

I found that the stretch from May to June is the most stressful or carefree time in a high school student’s life. This is probably due to the fact that there are hardly any breaks between May and June after spring break. While freshman worry about their Romeo and Juliet plays, seniors stroll through the parking lot skipping class because they have a bad case of senioritis.

Whether you are a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior, the end of the year indicates a sudden decrease in production of work. However you cannot catch this slacking disease. You must prevail! The days are slowly winding down, so now must be the time when you pick your head off of your desk and realize that those grades may need some fine tuning.

For me, I had to remember what hard work earned me. Newton’s third law states that “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” If that statement holds true, then the grade that you receive will most likely equal the effort you put into your work.

Remember that clothes pile analogy that I made before? Well what is that clothes pile looking like right now? Is it still in a heap where you left it at the beginning of the second semester? If that is true, then you my friend have a lot of work to do. Don’t delay what you can do today! It will make your life a lot easier if you do not procrastinate, and trust me, I learned that from experience.

Keep a goal-oriented mind. Have a goal to strive for at the end of the year. Maybe you want to get a certain amount of assignments in that are missing. Maybe you don’t want to fail a class. Maybe you want a 4.0 GPA. Whatever the goal may be, make a plan to help you achieve it. Try to put increments of work in your day, whether that be studying or working on a project. Prepare yourself for the future, for the tests, for the final mile.

School, as I said, is far from over. There are still many obstacles in the school course. Whether you believe you are just jumping through hoops for no reason, or that you are preparing yourself for the future, it is up to you. You are the one that decides how much you will care, and how much effort you will put in. And this last mile, you can choose to either slack, or to work. No matter what you choose, it will impact your future. You just have to open the gate.