The time of year has officially hit in which many of us are catching the disease formally known as ‘senioritis.’ Symptoms include procrastination, desire for sleep, lost or increased appetite and extreme stress. Senioritis does not just appear because you are in your senior year. There are many different reasons why you could be experiencing these symptoms. So take some time to reflect, and take that shot of “you’ve-got-this” to keep moving forward!
1. Your workload
One obvious reason you are experiencing senioritis is the amount of work that you have to complete. At this point you are probably enrolled in your core major requirements, working multiple jobs, thinking about a potential thesis—and let’s not forget those extracurriculars. No wonder you want to procrastinate. It is exhausting thinking about all that you have to do.
Solution
Tara Cappellucci, a senior at Framingham State University, recommends working on time management. “I always tell other people if I have something school or work related later,” she says. “I tend to be forgetful, so my friends are able to remind me if I do.” There are also all different types of planners and organizational tools that you can use to keep yourself and your work together.
2. You have fear of missing out
It’s Thursday night and everyone is getting dressed up and ready for a night out. They ask you to come and you keep having to say no because Assignment A is due tomorrow and Exam 3 is next week. But instead of actually being productive while everyone else is having fun not worrying about their responsibilities, you just sit in your room scrolling through Instagram and await drunken Snapchats from your roommates. You wish you there with them, but you’re not. Domini Batista, a junior at Framingham State University, says, “I tell myself that there is time for me when in reality there isn’t any.”
Solution
Ensure that you set time aside for yourself and for the people you want to spend time with. It can be difficult, but knowing that you will be seeing them soon will be a reminder that you don’t have anything to be afraid of missing. You will be with them soon enough.
3. You haven’t mastered the art of adulting
AKA your least favorite word. You keep worrying about the inevitable post-grad life and what it means to actually be an adult. Your parents tell you to start paying your own bills. You see your peers all starting to get their own apartments, finding their dream jobs and getting engaged. You can’t even fathom how they know what to do next.
Solution
Talk to a professional. There are many accessible on-campus resources that could help you—whether it’s a career counselor, school psychologist or someone in residence life who has information about nearby apartment listings. There are always people around who are willing to listen and point you in the right direction.
4. You aren’t satisfied with your relationships
You’re still single. Or you don’t know where you and your significant other stand after graduation. Your friends are moving on to bigger and better things. Your family keeps pressuring you to make decisions about what is going to happen to you within the next few dreaded months. It feels as if all of those important people in your life are nowhere near where you want or need them to be. You feel alone and that’s okay. You will always have people in your life but learning how to be independent can be a game changer as well.
Solution
Talk to the people in your life. Communication is a necessity for all relationships and not everyone is willing to make the first step towards improvement. Taking the time to reach out to others can benefit your relationship, or at least let you know where you stand with them.
5. You don’t have much time left
You can see the light at the end of the tunnel. You are so close to being done that you just can’t even anymore. All of your hard work has been paying off and you have just about earned that expensive piece of paper that you will say is your degree. Maddie Alper, a senior at Framingham State University, says, “Knowing how close I am to putting on that cap and gown and being done with the undergrad work is really taunting to me, and every senior I know.” You’ve had fun, fallen in love, cried over things you know won’t be important in the future, napped when you shouldn’t have and gotten through the terror that is finals week time and time again. You’ve done it all and you are ready to do so much more.
All of these things just mean that you are in the same position as everyone else. Even if you can’t sing along to Taylor Swift and feel 22, you have still completed an education that has shaped you into the person you are today. Don’t let senioritis get the best of you.