Being a senior has consumed my time with so many academic and extracurricular responsibilities. Along with being the Managing Editor of The Blue and Gold website, which is a commitment in itself, I also have nightly homework, a part-time job, and I am expected to complete college related things to add the icing on top of the cake. I was used to the academic part of my responsibilities for the past few years now, but everything else now just seems to make my school life unbearable.
Coming home from school for the past three years consisted of me hanging out with friends or my younger brother for a bit before completing any homework. Miraculously, I never went to bed later than 10pm at night. Even with my homework and time spent socializing, I still had some free time to relax, watch tv, or to spend time with my family.
With this school year, my daily routines have completely changed. With whatever free time I have, whether it’s lunch or homeroom or after school time, I squeeze in whatever homework I need to get done for the following school day. I find myself rushing out of school as soon as the last bell rings so that I can start my homework as soon as possible. Despite all of this effort, I end up staying up till about 11:00 or 12:00 each night, as well as waking up as early as 5am in the morning to finish what I couldn’t the night before.
And it’s not just me. All of my fellow seniors are going through the exact same thing. We’re all stressed out and we all are pressured by expectations and responsibilities, both in and out of school. We’ve all been spending so much time on our commitments and less time on our social lives all to prepare and secure our futures.
Although I hate to see myself and my peers so stressed out, I feel like it is the common feeling we are all having that brings me confidence and happiness in this really hard time in my life. In other words, it’s like I have a community to support and to support me in this really busy year. We are all struggling. We can’t change that, and we shouldn’t dwell about it. Instead, we should find comfort in knowing that we are not alone.
In this stressful time for seniors, it is very important to not only support others, but also to support ourselves. After a long week of college application deadlines, extracurriculars and homework, start a new series on Netflix. Call a friend and ask how they’re doing. Read a book. Try a new hobby. While this is an important time for seniors to prepare for their future, it is still a time for us to have fun and enjoy being in high school. We’re still kids, after all, and we might as well enjoy it while it lasts.
