Most months I write about what students should be doing to propel themselves toward college. And those types of blogs will return. But remember that college is part of life, and life is about more than work. After a year of working or schooling from home, socializing from home, and basically just staying at home, we suddenly have the opportunity to attend year-end celebrations — IN PERSON! This is in stark contrast to the way most of us have spent the past 14 months.

Students, most of you have been grinding away at classes behind a computer screen day-in and day-out. Seniors, you have added a litany of college applications, essays and scholarship applications to that solitary screen time. Juniors, many of you have taken virtual standardized test prep and spent time researching potential colleges. Most of you have seen but a handful of friends and haven’t attended a gathering of more than 10 people in a year. You have worked hard, you have sacrificed much, and you deserve to celebrate — more so this year than ever. I know that final exams and AP tests aren’t over, yet, but they will be soon. And when they are, take some time to have some fun. Hoop and holler and clap really loud at assemblies. Dress up. Laugh out loud. Dance. Take some time to enjoy the end of what has been a really tough year. These are good times. Celebrate them.