Becoming a Senior in college is a bittersweet time - part of you is happy you've reached the end, part of you is proud of yourself for making this far, and part of you is blatantly exhausted and dead on the inside. You go through all sorts of emotions, and you truly are probably living in the moment - because you finally did it. You finally hit this point in your college career. You're no longer a scared freshman, and you're the top of the totem pole. But, there's stages of senior year you experience. Some are good, some are bad, bu you'll probably feel them throughout the last 30 weeks of your time in college.
1. Excitement.
Like I've just mentioned, you're excited you've made it this far. You've gotten the majority of your classes out of the way, and now you're just doing the last few required classes and maybe taking a fun elective. You are already planning your graduation party, as well as your night out with friends - and how long you're going to sleep the day after you graduate. You know what friends you've made and who you'll celebrate with in June, what vacations you'll take, etc. Maybe you know your future career, but that's an iffy one.
2. Denial.
College has been the center of your life for four years or more. Classes, while you hated them, made your world go round and made your life interesting. You'll realize you'll miss some of the professors and planning your semesters. There's no more structure, or people telling you what to do. The structure suddenly being removed from you is scary. You planned everything around your classes - your homework, when you slept, when you worked, where you worked, where you went, who you met. It's all gone. You won't see your friend every Monday and Wednesday. You'll see strangers... at a real job.
3. Senioritis.
Nevermind, forget everything I said about missing the structure and the professor. Sleep is king. And you will want to sleep because you can't wait to graduate. You won't want to do anything halfway through the semester and can't wait to graduate all over again.
4. Undying anxiety.
What am I doing with my life? Where am I going after this? Was this a good idea? Should I have joined a circus instead or became a Kardashian? Was my major a lie? Do I even know anything? Will I eat tomorrow because of my anxiety? Should I see a doctor? Is it normal to not sleep for three days?
5. Acceptance.
You're graduating and will need to wake up at some ridiculously early hour to get ready to graduate at the end of this. You've accepted that it's over, and you're still conflicted whether it was a good or bad thing. You think about what you didn't get to do, the dreams you let go of, the possibilities that you passed up and also are now embarking on.
6. Adulting.
Well, shit.