All four years of high school we dream of the weeks leading up to graduation. We anticipate the fun and memories we will make at senior day of reflection, senior ditch day, senior sunset, mother-daughter brunch, senior prank, senior assassin and decorating graduation caps and uniform. However, as I experience them myself this second semester stress masked by all of the senior events is actually a harsher reality than expected.
The stress of college applications, deadlines, essays and decisions make up the majority of the first semester. These stressors put unbearable amounts of pressure on the seniors, which ends up propelling them to push through until the second half of the school year, the year we have been waiting for.
Senoritis hits seniors quickly in the fall of senior year, but it really gets bad once the second semester begins. The closer to graduation, the worse the senioritis is. This circumstance that paralyzes so many seniors proves to have a decline in motivation and performance in and out of the classroom. It often takes a toll on the students’ grades and overall mental health. This largely impacts seniors in the remaining weeks of the school year as graduation quickly approaches.
Along with monitoring their grades, seniors are also posed with the hardship of balancing academics and a social life in the remaining few weeks. The students are working to maintain grades for graduation, but also hoping to enjoy the last few months, which can be a struggle to juggle.
Along with the tough academic social balance, seniors face the emotional rollercoaster that has taken them along the past four years of their lives. The next steps are daunting, uncertain and unknown. The current life is comfortable, expected and safe. A dichotomy lies between the two and results in the emotional ups and downs that naturally arise with the end of high school and beginning of college.
It is worked up to be the best time of one’s high school career. Yet the numerous graduation requirements, heightened emotions, the many firsts, and the many lasts, the tough academic social balance and especially the senioritis make the fun end-of-the-year events unenjoyable due to the stress that lies upon these seniors.
