Seniors warn underclassmen: Final year no breeze

Riley O'Neill, Reporter|January 19, 2016

“When I go home.. I don’t want to do homework” said senior Greg Merwitz. Merwitz says since he has mentorship, he can do his homework during that time, relieving him from senioritis.

Frazzled juniors rarely hesitate to share horror stories that occur during the dreaded junior year, and often express their hurried anticipation to reach senior year. But does the coveted final year of high school actually lack stress? With the first semester under their belts, NC seniors find that the experience brings both joy and difficulty.

Entering into the second semester of her senior year, senior Brooke Shirer describes the grade as “not chill or relaxed 90% of time.” This description likely surprises underclassmen, who often view senior year as a relaxed victory lap celebrating one’s high school career.

The difficulty associated with junior year stems from rigorous course loads that those students traditionally incur. Seniors, however, face pressures beyond their daily class schedules: college applications, standardized achievement testing, and competitive scholarships.

Samira Parsa has already been accepted the University of Georgia, but explains that senior year has been more stressful than she imagined. As colleges get more competitive, students take on rigorous courses. “I’ve taken on more than I ever have before, I have all AP classes and I even started a job for the first time” said Parsa.

Additionally, seniors often suffer from “senioritis,” or, the seemingly contagious condition of rapidly losing academic motivation throughout one’s final year. Shirer diagnoses herself with senioritis, admitting she will often “justify not studying when [she] really should be.”

Despite such significant pressures, seniors unanimously agree that senior year holds many highlights, enjoying the wisdom and confidence they obtain after conquering the three prior years of schooling.

Senior Greg Merwitz finds the spirit weeks during his senior year most enjoyable because seniors “can just dress up and when people look at [them] weird, [they] can just be like, ‘I don’t really care because I’m a senior.’” With no one outranking their age and experience, students experience unprecedented confidence during their final year of high school.

Because most college application deadlines occur during the first semester, seniors’ second semester experiences generally include less stress and worry. Entering into possibly the calmest time of their lives, many of them reflect on their mistakes and successes throughout high school.

Merwitz advises juniors currently surviving their second semester to “just don’t stop studying, ever.”