Rose Doss
A&E Editor
As a senior, there are millions of things going through your head. Did I finish all my college applications? Will I get into my dream school? How will I keep my grades up? How will I get through the end of the school year? The stress and pressure of being a senior can be overwhelming and consuming at times. It can feel almost impossible for some to make it across the stage and receive that diploma.
College applications are one of the many big headaches seniors face during their last year in high school. Meeting deadlines and writing word-limited essays can seem repetitive and impersonal. The constant and overwhelming stress of impending school work while trying to complete life-changing applications on a time crunch can lead to an inordinate amount of stress.
During my time completing college applications, having to deal with completing school work and applications felt overwhelming. I believed that I needed to put my attention and effort into my school work or the applications, and when I fell short on the one, it was evident. I also had trouble diving deep into my short essays, finding it hard to pour my thoughts and self into such a small 250-word count. Despite having weeks, even months, to complete many applications, somehow, in my procrastination, I would find myself with only days left to complete one, knowing I only did it to myself.
Many students have one college they have looked forward to attending their whole high school life. Maybe your parents went there or your grandparents. They build their applications for their dream schools, contact the schools, write their best essays, and build themselves up with hope and anticipation. However, what can’t be prepared for is the possibility of rejection.
I had a school that I loved and thought was perfect for me. I toured and fell in love with the school, the town, and the student life, declaring that the school was the one for me. I only applied to it and one other school, relying on my acceptance because I knew it was the school of my dreams. What I wasn’t prepared for was the influx of applicants that flooded the college this year, and that my application didn’t make the cut. It was the end of December and I had been rejected by my dream school with no other school in my sights. Extreme dread and stress overwhelmed me for weeks to come as I tried to figure out my path, something many other students have had to experience as well.
Senioritis is an all too familiar word and something many seniors experience mid-to-late January or even at the beginning of the year. After getting accepted into college and knowing the path ahead, many find it difficult to find the want or need to continue. Grades tend to slip mid-year as kids start to skip class, dreading going to school as they are ready for graduation.
Even though I haven’t gotten into college yet, the dread that I feel of having to wake up and go to school is overwhelming. Trying to get through classes and keep my grades up is getting harder as the semester goes on. I am not ready to become an adult and take my next step, as moving out and not knowing what the future holds scares me. But I also anticipate the time when I get out of high school and start my new chapter, make new connections and relationships, and I get to grow more as a person.
Being a senior comes with many baggage and responsibilities that many let consume them. It takes steps to get to that final walk, the freeing feeling of receiving that diploma and earning your right to move forward. But that takes time, and every senior will get there; you just have to take it one step at a time.