Nothing is more bittersweet than leaving high school. For the past 12 years, many students have been by the sides of lifelong friends. Between summer barbecues, day camps, lunches in the courtyard and long walks to the third floor, friends have always been close by.

However, as graduating seniors begin internships and say goodbye to the halls of Staples, the time left together is limited. By mid August there will be no more running into friendly faces in the aisles of Fresh Market or the booths of the Sherwood Diner.

Much of the coming months will be spent preparing to pick up and move to all corners of the country.

“[Over the summer] I’m doing a mix of getting everything I need for college, babysitting and training for rowing,” Nica Wardell ’15 said. Investigating the most efficient methods of mailing your life to a new state becomes increasing popular as students, such as Wardell, near their departure.

Nick Kveitaia ’15 is taking advantage of the three months of freedom to travel back to his European roots. “I’m actually going back to Georgia for a couple of weeks to see my family before college” Kveitaia said.

Once he returns he and his friends plan to take a trip together before move-in days begin. “We’re all planning on remaining close friends, but this could be the last time we see a lot of people,” he said.

Making time for friends is something of a theme this summer. Most graduates will spend part of their final vacation at home planning road trips or making bucket lists with their group of best friends.

The transition into college life is a new and exciting change for seniors. Saying goodbye to friends and a hometown will present its challenges, but students eagerly await the start of four very memorable years.

“It is definitely going to be hard leaving my friends. We spend all of our time together, so it will be weird not having them around,” Laine Crowder ’15 said. “But I plan on making this summer a memorable one while we’re all still around.”