Graduating high school is a milestone, something that every student works towards for four years of their life. When graduation hits though, it’s bittersweet with a side of exhaustion and extra tasks.
Lars Scholze, a senior at MHS, has similar thoughts, as he said, “I’d say the process of graduating isn’t very stressful it almost feels like a relief because I finally made it through four years of high school but I think it’s kind of sad at the same time because it went so fast.”
Not only is graduation sad, but seniors have to fill out tons of scholarships as well.
Eliana Cangro, a senior at MHS, said, “The scholarship process is okay. I don’t know anybody who likes to sit and stare at a screen while answering questions for what seems like forever. So no, I don’t enjoy it.”
Lars is in agreement with Eliana, he said, “The scholarship process was the hardest part about being a senior and graduating because there are so many scholarships out there and many kids don’t know where to start however the community foundation scholarship process is nice because it has so many scholarships and you just tell them about yourself so I was grateful for those scholarships.”
Although scholarships require so much work, the reward is worth it. There are many tasks other than scholarships that seniors also have to complete.
Lars said, “Some tasks that come with graduation that were kind of a surprise is just how much the workload increases right after spring break. I was not expecting that at all and another task that was kind of unexpected is just getting everything ready to graduate.”
Extra workload like this can be very hard on seniors in their last months of high school. On top of this, many seniors struggle with the common phenomenon of “senioritis”. Oxford Dictionary defines senioritis as, “a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance.”
Eliana shared her experience with senioritis, she said, “Senioritis is definitely real. The last two months of high school are the fun months. everything up until this point is the hardest part. but sometimes I have to force myself to wake up for school…or because I’m just not really a morning person. I also get lazy with assignments which is something I never used to do.”
Some seniors may have lucked out on this with, like Lars, who said, “I would say I haven’t really had senioritis mainly because I’m only at school two hours a day and then MCC twice a week. I got really lucky with my schedule this year so it’s been low-stress.”
As these seniors get ready to leave some of the realness of it all may start to kick in.
Eliana said, “The only stressful thing about graduating is getting prepared for college. I think just trying to get myself ready is stressful because I just have the thought set that it’s going to be horrible but it will all be fine.”
This is something everyone has to be ready for when making milestones such as graduating.
Lars said, “Some tips I’d have for seniors and students in general is just enjoy your senior year and high school while you’re in it because towards the end everything flies by so quickly and just like that four years is over.”
Everyone’s favorite thing about graduation is the ample amount of parties that come with it. Whether it is the free food, decorations, or being able to see your friend celebrate their big moment.
Eliana said, “I like partying in general so I’m excited to go to everyone’s grad parties, and I’m excited for mine also!!”, and Lars said, “I like going to grad parties. It’s always nice to go out and support friends and what they’ve accomplished but planning a grad party is a lot of work and I didn’t realize that until I started planning mine.”
Senior year is a whirlwind of emotions for seniors as they enter the next chapter in their lives.
Eliana said, “While you plan on college, go do something, or go somewhere that you will enjoy. Also, take your time with things, it’s better not to overwork or overwhelm yourself with too many things.”
