Senioritis Is Hard

I think I have what is lovingly called “Senioritis.” The last time I experienced it was in my senior year of high school, but as my college graduation comes closer, that all too familiar feeling creeps back in. Senioritis can be described by feelings of anxiety, exhaustion, denial, excitement– really all of the above and is often recognized by society as a time marked by a decline in motivation.

You’d think that as the finish line gets closer, seniors would feel more energized than ever to finish strong and get things done. While that might be the case for some, for myself and many others, lack of motivation is the best way to describe the final weeks. As classes begin to wind down and the ability to be productive seems to be lost on us, senioritis takes over. 

In my personal opinion, this is the result of having too many things to do in a short amount of time. Not only do we need to figure out how to finish the year strong academically, but we have to figure out what we are doing next. So, while we are trying to keep up the motivation to finish assignments and do well on projects, we are also trying to figure out where we will live and how we will make money.

It seems that as the school year continues at high speed, there is no time to polish your resume and apply for jobs because all the energy to do that is being dedicated to the hours of homework we have been assigned. I don’t know about you, but recently, starting my homework takes me twice as long as it should, as my brain constantly stresses everything else I need to do. With my to-do list piling up, I keep thinking that the stress will eventually be enough motivation to kick things into gear, but that just isn’t the case. 

As I sit here, less than two months away from graduation, with seven rejection letters under my belt and no other plans but to go home and live with my parents, I can tell you that the senioritis has consumed any ounce of motivation I might have had. Now, my focus is just finishing the year as I struggle to the end.

The other day, I had the opportunity to talk through these feelings with one of my mentors, and she said she had felt the same thing just four years ago when she graduated college. She, too, had no plans for what her life after graduation would look like until a professor asked her to send over her resume immediately after she received her degree. Originally, her plan had boiled down to just going home and figuring things out from there, but God had other plans for her. Today, she has a successful career and has recently been promoted to a position more aligned with what she loves doing. 

So, if you need encouragement to get through this weird phase of life where you are excited to move on to the next chapter but don’t have the motivation to get there, I would highly recommend reaching out to people you know who have either recently graduated or are in a position that you hope to be in the next few years and ask them to share their senior year experience. Hearing stories of people who have come out on the other side of senioritis can help combat the voices in your head saying you can’t do it.

Easier said than done, but don’t let senioritis steal your motivation. Harness the anticipation and use it to keep pushing you forward. You are almost to the end, and you are more than able to finish strong.