Written by Hayley Krolik

1. 8:25 a.m. is more of a loose guideline than an actual requirement to be at school. If you are running late you might as well enjoy a nice breakfast.

2. Be spontaneous. Take adventurous trips to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in the middle of the week or spend a weekend in San Francisco. There is so much beauty to take advantage of here in the Bay Area.

3. Prioritize your happiness. If it’s between a homework worksheet and binge-watching the last season of your favorite Netflix show, choose what will make you most happy. “The Office” over the attendance office, am I right?

4. Sleep! I know you probably haven’t thought about this in the past three- and-a-half years, but better late than never. You’ll feel better and even if you have to put your homework aside to get to bed early, the benefits outweigh the opportunity costs.

5. Pajamas are in style this season—don’t just save your fashionista side for the first day of the semester. Pull out all the stops with a fresh pair every day of the week.

6. Save every piece of paper you receive from class. Every. Single. One. Take your classroom recycling bins home. Fill garbage bags and your entire closet with left over sheets. Let’s make this Paper Toss the biggest and best one yet!

7. The week of May 16 will be the best week of your life. Advanced Placement testing: over. Monday: Senior Cut Day. Tuesday through Wednesday: Smarter Balanced Testing for juniors only. Thursday: why bother even showing up? Friday: Physics Day at Great America! Get pumped.

8. These are the last memories we’ll make at Gunn High School, so we have to make them count (and not with calculus). Try talking to that kid that has been in all your classes but you’ve never met, or test out a new club. Savor every moment, and enjoy your eighth and final semester. You deserve it!