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.