22 Feb 2018

As usual the first few months of the year have gone by in a f*cking flash and we’re left panicking that it’s pretty much Christmas again. The only difference this time is that when December inexplicably catches us by surprise, many of you will have completed the final year of high school. Even though you’ve been dreaming about finishing school since pretty much the start, everything changes after high school and that’s something worth considering. Year 12 is the last chance to do a bunch of things that you wouldn’t even consider as a ‘proper adult’, and the last time you’ll get to keep doing things you’ll one day take for granted. So, in light of this, here’s how to make the most of your last year of high school.

1. Participate in all the events

If you told me now that I could take a day off work to race my friends in backstroke or run around a field throwing javelins and shit, I’d be halfway to the pool quicker than you could shoot a starter pistol. Athletics and swimming carnivals are such a unique part of the school year and despite being a great way to bludge for a whole day, you’re not going to get many chances to take part in those activities again, so you might as well give it a shot this year. Make a deal with all your mates to participate in every event together and have a laugh as you trip and stumble your way through the track, but know you’ve made the most of the opportunity.

2. Join a team

Whether it’s chess club, the rugby squad, or the school band, joining a team is a great way to make some new friends and to find out if you’re secretly a child prodigy. Year 12 is also one of your last chances to learn a new skill for cheap or free, since classes outside of school are usually much more expensive and your parents are less likely to pay for them when you’re 18. Even if you don’t end up being particularly good at it, you won’t regret giving it a try.

3. Stop being a dick

You really should have done this years ago, but in case you haven’t started being nice to everyone at school yet, now’s a better time than ever. You’re gonna find that school’s a whole lot more enjoyable when everybody is pleasant to each other, and you may even find a friend in the kid you used to talk shit about. Take it a step further and try to get to know everybody in your year, because every one of those people have bloody fascinating stories that you’d be damn lucky to hear.

4. Tell that person you like them

Honestly there’s a chance you’re never going to see that person again so might as well shoot for the stars, right? In all seriousness, if you’ve been living your life timid up until now, the buzz of finishing school should be enough to rouse you to take some chances. It goes for things other than dating, too, but the lesson you take from it should be the same nonetheless; you ask and you get, or you ask and live through the rejection. Just don’t be a creep about it, please.  

5. Be invested in your favourite subjects

Now’s the time to take some unabashed pride in any subjects you might be good at, and to take them a little more seriously. Whether it’s high-brow English literature, or a practical VET course, you may be pursuing these subjects after school so you might as well put some more effort into doing well this year. 

6. Spend more time with your friends

You’re not going to see them everyday again, so you better make the most of it now. Go to the movies together, study together, play sports together, get drunk in a field together if that’s your thing–just be sure to have the best bloody year together before having to say goodbye.