As senior year comes to a close, I’ve found myself saying the phrase “Y’know what nobody talks about…” to start a conversation about topics I wish I was more prepared for coming into senior year. For example, these could range anywhere from “Y’know what nobody talks about, how picking your college is honestly more difficult than applying to it” to “Y’know what nobody talks about, how annoying it is to be undecided but your favorite music artists release concert dates.” So, here’s a conversation about all the things I wish were more normalized to me before entering senior year.
Firstly, I wish it was more normalized that even after college applications, you still have applications and tough decisions to make. Going into senior year, I knew after November 1st I’d still have to apply for some schools, scholarships, and whatnot, but I never expected to be filling out more applications after November 1st than before. And scholarship applications aren’t as easy as I assumed either. For some scholarships I needed teacher recs, a resume, my transcript, multiple essays, and an entire application. Filling out applications is honestly starting to feel like a job. Along with deciding which school to apply to based on what they may offer, I never expected the actual decision on where I’m going to be more difficult and stressful than the application process to get into said college. Once college decisions start coming out, everyone wants to know where you’re going and everyone starts to decide. The past two weeks for me have been so stressful just because I felt like I was falling behind not having already decided on what college I’ll be attending in the fall. This honestly could have just been an experience only I faced due to my indecisiveness, but I still wish it was a little more normalized.
Along the lines of the undecided path, I wish more people talked about how frustrating it is to make plans for the fall when you don’t know where you’ll be at that time. Like concerts. I love attending concerts and typically have a handful of concerts lined up for the year. But, since I hadn’t decided where I’ll be in the fall until this week, I haven’t been able to make any concert plans. I don’t think this frustration needs to be normalized but it is definitely something that had been pushing on my decision timeline.
Finally, even though everyone talks about how big of a thing senioritis is, I still feel like it hit me like a train. When people would talk about it, I’d listen and think “Oh that sucks, but it won’t happen to me.” I was so wrong in that thought. Senioritis definitely hit me. Every year I start to drag a little and wish I was anywhere but school when the weather gets warm and water polo season starts, but this year is 100 times worse. Not to make an excuse for my senioritis (I’m about to make a massive excuse for it), but throughout the entirety of senior year–and honestly our entire high school career–teachers and past students are constantly telling us to enjoy our senior year because it goes fast. But then those same teachers will assign every assignment under the sun and make it due by Sunday at 11:59 pm. So, not only am I expected to enjoy my time as a senior in high school, but I’m also expected to do my homework, give the water polo team my 100% time and effort, decide on a college, apply for scholarships, and spend time with my family. Putting all those expectations within the hours of 3:10 pm on Friday and 11:59 pm on Sunday, one thing has to give. Unfortunately for my teachers–and my grades–homework seems to be the best option out of them.
Despite the bad that I wish was more normalized, there are plenty of good things that come with senior year that I’m glad were hyped up previously. Some of these include Airband, Powderpuff, Senior Celebration, and the final decision on what college you’re attending. Performing at Airband, and that entire night in general, was such a fun experience that I’m glad it was normalized throughout my years of attending North. Now that I’ve finally decided where I’m going to college next fall–go orange!–I’ve started the search for roommates, friends, and apparel. Since the weight of the decision has been taken off my shoulders and now I can just enjoy the rest of the school year knowing where I’ll be in the fall, I’ve started to really enjoy the preparation for the fall.
Hey Kayley,
I feel like I could relate to your post immensely dude. Senior year for me was a mix of a lot of things, but right now it’s going really well for me. I struggled with the same things previously and thought I was burnt out, but now I’m feeling like I’m just fresh out the oven since I’ve decided on a college and am feeling pretty excited – met some cool incoming freshmen there as well.
I feel like senior year definitely is a huge mess of things, and I found myself oftentimes struggling through, wondering, “What am I even doing here?”. I’d oftentimes feel like I just wanted to jump out that window and go out for a 2 mile jogging lap around my neighborhood. But I think the main reason why I felt these things is that senior year encompassed too many obligations and too little self-driven incentives to fulfill them. I slacked on my assignments, put off some of my clubs, and overall, wasn’t a very good student.
But with the summer coming up, some things that I’ve started up, and a new chapter to look forward to, I’m feeling really really good. I’m glad that you’ve found the light at the end of the tunnel as well!
-Kai Liu
Hi Kayley, first of all congrats on committing! I can definitely relate to those pains of deciding where to go. Luckily for me, my two choices were at least in the same city so I could still kind of envision my plans and future in that sense. I also completely agree with your senioritis situation. I feel like everything I’ve heard about second semester senior year was that I wouldn’t have to do much and now that I’m here, I feel like I’ve severely overestimated the amount of free time I’d have. I’ve just recently committed and there are so many scholarships to apply for, I’m still trying to wrap up the remaining activities I still have left, and I have some of my grades that I have to keep up. The pressure definitely feels lighter, but I still think it’s far from weightless.
Kayley, I couldn’t agree more with how much we still had to do after November 1st. Sometimes it almost feels as if I am busier this year than I have been in the past. And I couldn’t agree more about your point on scholarships, I had started applying for some in January, well after I had finished my college essays. But I realized that I was almost a one trick pony. College essay prompts are so generic, it was easy to crank one out and simply use that template for future essays. However, between all the various scholarship prompts, it was hard to write a quality essay in a limited amount of time. With this being said, I am glad the year is almost over and all of our hard work will soon be worth it. Summer is just around the corner and we can use these two months to relax before we’re off to college.
Hi Kayley! I really enjoyed reading your blog post this week, especially because your message resonated so much. While my situation was a little different from yours, I wish people talked more about the transition from high school to college. What sort of AP exams should I take in my senior year to set myself up for success in college, not my application. Or even, as you mentioned, senioritis; I don’t think I fully understood what senioritis was until I visited W&M and, upon my return trip home, realized I still had to finish high school. It’s all so bizarre, and I agree that it ought to be normalized. Senior year is incredibly tough, but with some of the events that you highlighted in your blog, it makes it equally enjoyable. Thank you for sharing!