Does the senior slump exist?

Everyone’s heard of the sophomore slump. You’re coming off back from your freshman year where everything is new, and fun, and exciting but when you come back the novelty has worn off. Classes get harder. You’re not old enough to go to the bars, but freshman parties seem lame. The sophomore slump hit me hard. I can easily say my sophomore year of college was the worst year of my life.

I was dreading coming back to school for junior year. But, surprise surprise, it ended up being the best year I’ve ever had. So when it was time to head back for senior year, I couldn’t wait. The first week back was fine, I mean, how can you not enjoy welcome week? But after that, things started to feel different. Classes were harder.

I thought senior year was supposed to be the easiest and I could just coast but that is NOT the case.

I’ve never been more swamped with homework in my life. And that's on top of actual work. If I want to afford my Kilroy's habit, I have to have a job. And since I want to get hired somewhere after college, I've got to be involved in a couple clubs.

What makes senior year different from any other time when you’re overwhelmed is, along with everything else, you’re searching for a job. That’s the final straw. Searching for a job is sooo stressful. Even after four years of college, I’m still debating on what I want to do or where I want to go with my post-college life. It keeps me up at night trying to decide what I want to do, and it doesn’t help at all when people say that I “don't need to know what I want to do yet.” I WANT TO KNOW. I’m ready to get my life started but I have this cloud of uncertainty hanging over my head.

All of these things combine to create what I've started to call, the senior slump. A mix of stress and anxiety have put a damper on what I thought was going to be the best year of my life.

I have no idea how I’d never heard of this before, but it definitely exists.

Underclassmen, this is your warning. The senior slump is real.