Students spend time in classes repeatedly tapping their foot against the leg of their desk and watching the clock move slowly toward another number. After three years of the same routine, they reach the final year, the finish line, the last hoorah.

However, despite the repeated glowing message from every high school movie and comments from relatives, senior year can be the pinnacle of stress.

Being asked by every adult, “What are your plans for after high school?” A teenager can develop a well-rehearsed answer about their college acceptance, intended major and how they plan to become a partner at a law firm by age 35 while owning a diverse stock portfolio. While honestly, we don’t know what the heck we are doing after collecting our diplomas.

Introducing yourself as a high school senior can induce a sparkle in the eye of your middle-aged conversation partner when they say, “This is the best time of your life.”

Perched on the cusp of adulthood with parents prepared with scissors, ready to cut the ties of dependency, senior year may be an important development year but it teenagers cannot describe it as the best time of a their life.

It can be “the best time to get a prescription for Xanax” or “the best time to see if you can pass three tests in one day on three hours of sleep.”

High school peakers, beware. Rose colored glasses can cause a faux-golden tint on the four years spent in high school.

So put away your varsity jacket from 1978 and stop lying to teenagers.