Your senior year of college will evoke a total roller coaster of emotions that can range anywhere from celebration to sorrow.

Remember when you were a freshman in high school? Young, naïve and still figuring yourself out. You never felt like the day would come when you would be

gearing up to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life. Yet here you are preparing for your final year of school. Needless to say, time flies, and before you know it the college experience is over. 

Senior year of college can evoke a multitude of emotions. Here are five emotions you may be likely to feel at some point during your concluding year of higher education. 

1. Happiness: Feeling happy is, obviously, a natural and typical reaction to be expected during your senior year. After all, the years and years of tests and homework will all be coming to an end. Senior year also brings a lot of perks. You’re, most likely, 21 and able to hit the bars, you have established friendships from your prior years in school, and the knowledge of knowing you’re so close to a diploma and degree make senior year all the sweeter.  

2. Anxiety. There is a lot of pressure in college – pressure to get good grades, pressure to join the right clubs, pressure to be involved and, ultimately, pressure to succeed. After graduation, the pressure to find an amazing career is at an all time high. Anxiety is one of the most widespread feelings for college seniors looking to take the next step, whether that is furthering education or finding a job or internship.

3. Relief. Lets get one thing straight – college is not easy. At orientation before my freshman year, I remember listening to a speaker tell us to, “look to your left, then look to your right. Only one out of you three of you will finish college here at Washington State.” I think most people, at one point or another in their college career, have doubts about themselves. Feeling relief that you’ve made it to your senior year is completely natural.

4. Dismay. A sorority sister and dear friend had a full on life crisis when she turned 20 years old. She just couldn’t handle the fact she wasn’t a teenager anymore. I can only imagine and prepare for when it’s time for her senior year. Dismay is the best word I can pick to describe this emotion. Senior year flies by, so try not to be too alarmed when it’s time for graduation.

5. Denial. Denial at the conclusion of your college career is completely fine. Sometimes, it is too hard to accept that your glory days are coming to an end. I’m currently in the denial stage and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. After all, ignorance is bliss, right? 

Enjoy the moment, embrace the grind and take full advantage of the fact that it’s pretty much the last year it is socially acceptable to go to McDonald’s fully clothed in pajamas at 1 p.m. on a Saturday.