Senioritis, laziness, and unproductive are all everyday aspects of a second-semester senior's life, and here are four questions that they constantly encounter on a daily basis.
1. "Should I go to school today?"
I hear the alarm clock going off; it’s 7:00 A.M. and class starts at 7:30 A.M., so the checklist in my brain goes off.
- 1. Are there any assessments today? If no, go to 2,
- 2. Are there any events the next day? (There is an attendance policy that if you do not go to school the day before, you cannot play in the sport/go to the event.) If no, go to 3,
- 3. Do I have enough unexcused absences to not go to school? If no, then hit the snooze button, and doze off for another 3 hours.
Not going to school is translated to “catching up on sleep” as a senior. Sleep is the most vital instrument to an AP loaded senior in May. If you are able to get extra sleep in the morning, then the afternoons can be spent studying for the upcoming AP Calculus or Chemistry exam. Naps are rewards from extended time spent studying, but takes away time that could be spent studying, so they serve as a double-edged sword.
2. “Are y’all hiring?”
Summer Job hunting is a must for seniors in high school. Saving up money for college is one thing that parents, teachers, and peers are constantly emphasizing for students. So going to the mall, going from store to store and asking for job applications are a must.
This tweet is an accurate representation of what this feels like:
https://twitter.com/DoloBeing/status/864723910826143744
3. “What do you want to do with your life?”
This is a question that has always constantly been asked throughout everyone’s whole entire life, whether it be at the dinner table or a questionnaire, but now it is an actual decision that a 17-18 year old has to decide. The funny “career cruising” tests are rapidly becoming a reality and are a factor in choosing what you want to do as a career. The college chosen on May 1st when you have to put in your unnecessarily expensive deposit fee, will be a determining factor in how well of a job you are going to get.
4. “Are you ready to graduate?”
Graduation is the one thing that every single student looks forward to as a freshman in high school, but once the time comes, reality sets in. It first starts with the constant bombardment of “Senior Pictures” on Instagram, then it progresses to the summer photos that the school does for the yearbook, and a constant accumulation of realizations until it actually hits.
My first actual realization that my friends were going away was when one of my closest friends, got into Yale University. I was extremely ecstatic that she got in, but realized I would probably not be able to see her until she came back for the summer, if that. The “UGA ’21”, “GT ’21”, “Emory ’21”, & etc.. in my peer’s bios show the accomplishments that they were able to achieve in high school through their hardships, leadership, and academics, but it also shows the distance away that close friendships and relationships are going away. Rather than a simple “hey want to go to the movies today?” and driving 5 minutes to pick them up and see the movie, it’s going to have to be a long shot to see them.
So really, "Are you ready to graduate?" means "Are you ready to take your first step into the real world?"
