Being an upperclassman in college can be as liberating as it is stressful. On one hand, you’re finally taking classes that you actually enjoy that are related to your major and not just fulfilling your general education requirements. But on the other hand, graduation is coming up, and faster than you think. Then there’s the inevitable job hunting, career anxiety, and wondering where you’ll even be living once you’re done with school. All this combined with routine academic stress that comes with every semester often leads to a whole lot of stress-induced procrastination and lack of motivation in your later college years. In short, that thing you heard about when you were graduating high school and maybe even thought you felt—senioritis, yep, that’s the one—is back and stronger than ever before, knocking your high school equivalent out of the water. And the worst part is, you may just be a third-year student and starting to feel this way already.
In all honesty, my method of coping with my early-onset senioritis may not be possible for many other students. I came back from studying abroad for the fall semester of my sophomore year and was immediately so unmotivated being back on campus because I felt as though I had done everything I wanted to in college now that I had studied abroad. So naturally, I impulsively decided that I would finish my degree and graduate an entire year early, meaning that I had only three more semesters to get everything together and make that possible. I understand this decision is quite drastic and definitely not for everybody, but there are many more people who graduate even just one semester early, so I think if it’s possible for you, you should consider it. It saves some tuition money as well. This is just how far I personally had to run to get away from feeling so unmotivated often to the point of misery at school—there are of course things you can do to cope and take care of yourself while still completing the typical four years!
Sometimes even just thinking about how great and satisfying it will feel to walk across the stage and be handed your diploma at the end of all this is enough to keep me going. We’ve all worked so hard for so long, just imagine that relief!
Taking time to care for yourself and focus on something other than coursework or a job is imperative to keeping the flame burning. Read a book for fun for once, or take a day to watch some Netflix, whatever you like doing. I think it’s important to carve out time in your personal schedule where you can just sit and do nothing—and by that I mean, do anything that’s not related to school or your career. Just chill, recharge, and get back on the horse tomorrow. There’s absolutely no shame in taking a day off.
Keep track of time. I like to hang a calendar in my room and physically cross off each day as I get through it. This way I can actually see my progress through time, and that gap between now and May looks shorter and shorter every time I cross off a box. And now you’re not just floating through infinite space without a concept of time passing. College can feel like that if you start losing track of the days and just live from assignment to assignment. I learned that lesson the hard way.
All in all, college is a very short period in life, even though it certainly doesn’t feel that way when you’re in it. Four years is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Once you’re given that diploma and walk off that stage, you have all the time in the world. The existential implications of that are a little staggering, but honestly, I think it will get better after school. So don’t give up now; we’re almost there.
Senioritis is a struggle that most students go through. For some of us, it may just happen earlier than others. We’re all with ya, pal.
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