A Senior's Perspective

This is a picture of my best friend, Autumn, and me.  She is a high school senior right now, and is very excited about what her future will bring.  I was very interested in interviewing her, because we had never talked about her perspective about college, since she was so excited about my sister and I going away.  I loved doing this interview, and the answers she came up with were very thought out and professional, so I thought that was cool.  This is what she said:

Q: What's your favorite part about senior year right now?

A: "My favorite part about senior year is all of the new liberties and freedoms.  When you're a senior, you're treated with a level of respect that you never really got when you were an underclassman.  Although more is expected from you, you're treated like an adult."

Q: What are you most looking forward to in the rest of the year?

A: "I'm most looking forward to the end of the year activities: prom, senior trip, graduation, etc.  Aside from AP testing, the end of the school year is such a fun time for seniors.  I'm excited to spend those last few weeks having a great time with my best friends."

Q: Have you come in contact with senioritis yet, and if so, how are you managing it?

A: "I don't think I've come in contact with senioritis just yet.  I think it's still early to really have it.  But when I've experienced moments of laziness, I mentally check myself and do my best to get back on track."

Q: What are you most nervous about for college?

A: "For college, I'm most nervous about balancing my studies and social life.  Throughout high school, I've had my parents and my teachers to guide me and let me know when I'm not staying focused, but in college, I'll be all on my own.  For me personally, I think it'll be a challenge to separate academics and fun."

Q: What are the most excited about in college?

A: "And lastly, I'm most excited about the new experiences college will bring.  I've heard over and over that college is the best years of your life.  I'm pumped to think about forming lifelong bonds and just living life to the fullest.  Up until this point, I've been blessed with so many amazing memories with my friends and family, but when I go to college, I'll be lucky enough to have the opportunity to create even more."  

It was great to hear to hear these things from Autumn, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds for her. 

Not Always Fun and Games

All throughout this blog, I mention how great college is.  It is, but it can also be very stressful.  There are days when you just want to curl into a ball and go home.  There certainly have been many times like that for me throughout this semester.  However, as my first semester is coming to a close, I can say that the past four months have been some of the best of my life.  It takes some difficult decisions to get to where to you wan to be, but it is worth it in the end.  In this post, I have some tips to help you prepare for what college is really like.

1. The workload is a lot different than high school.
• The first week of classes is commonly called "syllabus week." This is the best and worst week of the semester, because it is usually the easiest, but you see all the work that is due throughout the semester.  It can be very stressful seeing it all at once.  It usually gets better as you start doing the work, but it is still so much more than you can imagine right now. 
2. It will be stressful.
• The best thing I can say about this is to just expect it.  Know how to deal with stress and what works to help calm you down.  There will be late nights and a great lack of sleep, and that automatically takes a toll on someone's body.  If you add homework into that equation, it can end up being a disaster at times.  
3. Learn how to study.
• Throughout my whole life, I was one of those students that never had to study for anything.  Before I left for college, my parents continually told me that I can not start studying the night before a test if I want to do well.  This is one of the things that they were completely correct about.  Know how to study before you come to college, so that you don't have to risk failing your first tests trying to figure it out.  

Above all these tips I just said, college is fun.  However, you have to know how to put that fun aside and manage your time so that you can get work done.  The ultimate goal out of these four years is to earn a degree.  It is still school, so have fun, but also be smart. 

Senior Year Jitters

Senior year is so much fun, but it is also a time where a lot of nervousness comes into play.  You end up having to think about what you are going to do for the rest of your life for the first time.  First times are always scary, but they get better as you just keep doing it.  So don't be scared of thinking about the future; it gets easier.

Seniors must think about their major, what college that want to go to, what is going to happen after graduation, and what college will even be like.  It really scary stuff, but remember, you probably have some sort of support system to help you out with this.  You can always talk to a parent or guardian, sibling, any family members, or even a best friend.  They all understand how nerve wracking senior year can be, and they can all help you overcome your jitters.  

You can also think about seniors in college to help overcome your nervousness.  They have it a lot worse, because after graduation, they are forced into the real world with bills to pay and jobs to attend every day.  These are some problems college seniors deal with every day that may calm your jitters because you don't have to deal with that right now.  Even though I have not had to deal with this yet, my older sister has, and I can say that each of these points are absolutely true.

It is normal to be nervous to graduate and know what the future holds, and it is just a great part of what makes senior year the way it is.  

A New Life

Transitioning from high school to college can be very difficult to many people.  You go from living at home with you family and seeing your friends all the time that you have known for years, to going to a new place with usually no one that you know.  After your parents leave, you are left by yourself and are forced to go out of your little room to meet new people, which some will become your best friends for life.  There is a lot of pressure at this time, and it can sound daunting.  However, little do you know, that this experience of coming to a new place may be the best choice of your life.

Coming to college also makes you more responsible.  The day I moved in, when my parents left, my roommates and I just looked at each other because we did not know what to do in the moment.  We were by ourselves for the very first time.  Over time, we were forced to create a schedule for ourselves, and as a result, we became very responsible.  College is also a place to have fun though.  You do the stuff you couldn't do in high school, like sleeping over in your friend's room just because you could.  It is a whole new life, and it can be great!

The next time you think about how daunting moving into college is, try picturing all the fun stuff that is going to happen in the future.  College will be stressful, but it is also one of the greatest times of your life.  It is a whole new life, but try to make the best of it!

Managing Scholarships!

Scholarships can be a pain to apply for, but can be very helpful towards lowering your tuition fee for the school you are attending.  This is because there are so many out there, which is great; however, there can also be slim chances that you are going to win that scholarship.   Also, there is a great thing called senioritis that many are battling while scholarship applications are going on.  These are all problems that seniors face while trying to apply for scholarships. 

My best advice is to take it one scholarship at a time.  Do as many as you can, because there is more of a chance of you winning every time you submit another application.  Keep that in the back of your mind when you are struggling to finish that essay. 

There are also so many scholarships with so little qualifications.  These are all easy ones to apply for, and you can get money for it if you win! 

Scholarships can be worth the time if you win, and if you happen to not win one, then just keep trying again until you do!

One Word: Senioritis

Senioritis, we all know what it is.  It comes to every graduating senior at some point during the year, some earlier than others, and it never goes away until graduation.  It can be easy to blame your late and incomplete assignments on this so called disease, but there are slight ways to not let it totally affect the end of your year.

1. End bad habits before they start
• If you go into senior year with the mindset that it's going to be one big party and you'll slide through with a breeze, you're probably going to think that when you wake up everyday.  It can be hard to get out of the slacker mentality; we see how it affects us every year when we come back from summer vacation.  Don't start those thoughts, and most definitely don't give in and believe them.

1. Take it one day at a time
• Yes, it can be hard to work when keep thinking that there is only a month left of school.  Instead, try not to think about how much time you have left; Try thinking about the work that you have to get done for the next day.  Before you know it, you won't have any work to do for tomorrow and you'll be done!

1. Keep in mind that your grades still matter and do fully count
• Colleges ask for your full transcript at the end of the year, and will pull scholarships or any money out, if your grades don't align with how they were when you applied.  Also, if your grades seem to be better than when you applied to the school, then they have the choice of putting in more money into your account for your good work.  

It can be very difficult to finish the year strong, especially with senioritis.  However, people do finish strong, so it isn't impossible.  We've all had to deal with it, and while it can be fun, it is important to not let it drag you down.  Also, we have to deal with it again during our senior year of college, so you'll definitely need these tips then too.  

Those Dreaded Family Events

Yay! The holidays are coming!  This may mean good or bad news depending on how you feel about your family and those family meals you have every year.  Every family is different, but it seems as though everyone has those same crazy types of family members that come around once a year.  Even if you love seeing your family every year, even the ones you can never get away from, this year will probably begin all the dreaded questions about the rest of your life.

• Have you started looking at colleges?
• What do you want to major in?
• How do you think you are going to do living with a roommate?

The questions never stop, even when you are finally in college.  

• How's the food there?
• Any difference in your love life?
• What do you do on the weekends?

It seems as though we can never get away from these questions.  Yes, they can make these family events uncomfortable, but we all go through it.  It also most definitely wouldn't be the same without them.  So we just have to suck it up, and keep pretending we know what we are doing about the rest of our lives.