Senior year, the grade everyone dreams of being in. It’s the most hyped year because you’re practically an adult. You have events such as prom, grad night, and my personal favorite, senior ditch day. You don’t have to worry about SATs being shoved down your throat and you can actually enjoy your last year of high school, right? Wrong, you’re dead wrong. This could not be further from the truth. After this article, I’m pretty sure nearly every freshman’s hopes and dreams just died. Senior year is the most cutthroat year of them all. Being a senior is like working a full-time job plus over-time, and you don’t get paid for any of it. Imagine this, you have your normal day-to-day stuff like classes and homework, nothing new. Then you have your extracurricular activities such as clubs and sports. Now let’s add the responsibility of applying for colleges and scholarships. I feel bad for the people who have stuff to do over the week because I know they’re going to suffer. The point is, senior year is a one-way ticket to getting a severe case of depression (if you don’t have it already). Senior year isn’t all bad, but that isn’t the point of this article. I’ve talked to a few seniors about their experience. I will give you 7 senior life hacks that could possibly save you from getting a severe case of depression.
1# Choose your classes wisely
Your class will make or break you. I’m being so serious, don’t pick four AP classes. Let’s sit down and think about this. I recommend you pick two classes that’ll help you towards your major or whatever you want to do after high school. Then, depending on if you’re better at reading or math, you can choose a cutthroat math class and English 4 or vice versa. Then pick straight easy classes. PE, art class, or music class. Any one of those classes will do. So, let’s put this into perspective. You have Music, Art, English 4, Dual Credit Pre-Calc, your two classes you picked based off of your major and finally, lunch. If you’re lucky, you can get a senior lab which is a period long study hall. This’ll minimize the amount of stress you’ll have while getting what you want.
2# Write your personal statement over the summer
The personal statement, the cause of 95% of depression because no one told us that we had to write one. Don’t worry, that’s why you’re reading this article so you won’t get caught lacking. Your personal statement is an essay about a moment in your life that shaped who you are today. Buddy, I just say lock in and get it over with over the summer. Is that going to be your final paper that you’ll submit to colleges and scholarships? Probably not, but at least you’ll have an idea of what you want to write about. Getting your personal statement done will save you a bunch of time and stress.
Your class will make or break you. I’m being so serious, don’t pick four AP classes. Let’s sit down and think about this. I recommend you pick two classes that’ll help you towards your major or whatever you want to do after high school. Then, depending on if you’re better at reading or math, you can choose a cutthroat math class and English 4 or vice versa. Then pick straight easy classes. PE, art class, or music class. Any one of those classes will do. So, let’s put this into perspective. You have Music, Art, English 4, Dual Credit Pre-Calc, your two classes you picked based off of your major and finally, lunch. If you’re lucky, you can get a senior lab which is a period long study hall. This’ll minimize the amount of stress you’ll have while getting what you want.
2# Write your personal statement over the summer
The personal statement, the cause of 95% of depression because no one told us that we had to write one. Don’t worry, that’s why you’re reading this article so you won’t get caught lacking. Your personal statement is an essay about a moment in your life that shaped who you are today. Buddy, I just say lock in and get it over with over the summer. Is that going to be your final paper that you’ll submit to colleges and scholarships? Probably not, but at least you’ll have an idea of what you want to write about. Getting your personal statement done will save you a bunch of time and stress.
3# Do not procrastinate
Procrastination, my worst enemy. So who else waits until the last minute to do their homework knowing they have to write a 10 page essay, finish calculus, and finish a 150 guided practice assignment all due by 11:59? That’s me for real and I'll keep it a buck with you. It feels so good to purposely not do homework well…until it’s 10:30 at night and I'm rushing to finish everything. It’s a vibe to be honest however, it’s recommended that you finish your homework the day it's assigned or get it done a little bit at a time.
4# Lock in first semester, fall off second semester
First semester, you have to lock in. You should try your best to get all A's in the first semester because colleges will look at your first semester transcript. Your grades matter a lot in the first semester. After the first semester, you can pretty much chill. Do a couple of assignments per month. As long as you don’t fail the mandatory classes, then you're good.
Procrastination, my worst enemy. So who else waits until the last minute to do their homework knowing they have to write a 10 page essay, finish calculus, and finish a 150 guided practice assignment all due by 11:59? That’s me for real and I'll keep it a buck with you. It feels so good to purposely not do homework well…until it’s 10:30 at night and I'm rushing to finish everything. It’s a vibe to be honest however, it’s recommended that you finish your homework the day it's assigned or get it done a little bit at a time.
4# Lock in first semester, fall off second semester
First semester, you have to lock in. You should try your best to get all A's in the first semester because colleges will look at your first semester transcript. Your grades matter a lot in the first semester. After the first semester, you can pretty much chill. Do a couple of assignments per month. As long as you don’t fail the mandatory classes, then you're good.
5# Form good relationships with your teachers
Now, I know y’all got beef with some of the teachers. Y’all know who you like or don’t like. Look, some of these teachers got connections. Y’all sleeping on teachers who can get you in the door. They’ll make your life convenient, most of them at least. Some are just unapproachable but that’s neither here nor there. Just tell them good morning or something. You’ll find out that a lot of teachers are extremely friendly and kind. They’ll do stuff for you that they won’t do to others. It all comes down to just being genuine and transparent.
6# Speak up when it’s becoming too much
You’re going to be stressed. It’s guaranteed that you're going to have a lot on your plate and by the time the end of the year comes, you’re going to be very tired. My finals aren’t until the 22nd of May which is too long for me personally. In addition to the AP test, yeah you’re going to want to speak up and let someone know that you just have a lot going on. If you’re in good standing with the teacher, they’ll give you a break and let you rest for a bit to recuperate but you still need to lock in with the little motivation you have left.
Now, I know y’all got beef with some of the teachers. Y’all know who you like or don’t like. Look, some of these teachers got connections. Y’all sleeping on teachers who can get you in the door. They’ll make your life convenient, most of them at least. Some are just unapproachable but that’s neither here nor there. Just tell them good morning or something. You’ll find out that a lot of teachers are extremely friendly and kind. They’ll do stuff for you that they won’t do to others. It all comes down to just being genuine and transparent.
6# Speak up when it’s becoming too much
You’re going to be stressed. It’s guaranteed that you're going to have a lot on your plate and by the time the end of the year comes, you’re going to be very tired. My finals aren’t until the 22nd of May which is too long for me personally. In addition to the AP test, yeah you’re going to want to speak up and let someone know that you just have a lot going on. If you’re in good standing with the teacher, they’ll give you a break and let you rest for a bit to recuperate but you still need to lock in with the little motivation you have left.
7# Don’t stress about things you cannot control
This is something that I have a habit of doing in which it’s stressing about stuff that’s out of my control. I personally like to micromanage everything about my life so whenever I have to rely on someone else to get stuff done for me, I start to get worried. For seniors this year, Fafsa was delayed by 3 months so everything was done extremely late. I was stressing about my college not giving me my acceptance letters or financial aid. Do not worry about any of that as things will all fall into place. Some things you just have to not worry about and recognize that things will be taken care of.
This is something that I have a habit of doing in which it’s stressing about stuff that’s out of my control. I personally like to micromanage everything about my life so whenever I have to rely on someone else to get stuff done for me, I start to get worried. For seniors this year, Fafsa was delayed by 3 months so everything was done extremely late. I was stressing about my college not giving me my acceptance letters or financial aid. Do not worry about any of that as things will all fall into place. Some things you just have to not worry about and recognize that things will be taken care of.