This article was written by Everly Mag Intern Bridget.
As I enter my senior year of college and reflect on my years of schooling, I remember that feeling of dread I felt each year as the summer came to a close. By my senior year of high school I was so mentally drained from school and sports that I thought I would never make it through my last year. The truth is however, that it ended up being probably the best year of my life up until that point. Here are some words of advice I would give to incoming high seniors to make the most of your last year.
Image: Photo by Baim Hanif via Unsplash
Don’t make your class schedule too overwhelming… or too laid back
When I originally signed up for my senior year classes in high school I had two free periods, as this was pretty typical of seniors at my school (I even knew some people with 3-4 free periods!). My parents actually ended up making me sign up for two more classes. While I do think taking more classes encouraged me to be more productive with my days, I felt very stretched thin and unmotivated in some of my classes, especially when all of my friends got to go out for extra long lunches or leave school early while I was stuck in class. I would personally recommend taking enough classes to keep you busy and to have a competitive transcript if you are looking into pursuing higher education, but if you have a chance to incorporate a free period or even an easier class or two into your schedule, it might be a good idea.
Organize your time wisely
Something I know I could definitely work on in regards to school is time management. I know in my senior year especially, there tended to be an abundance of social events that I would have hated to miss out on. If you would rather be spending time having fun with friends, or doing fun activities than being locked up in your room all night studying, find a way to organize your time effectively. Come home from school and try to finish all of your work right away so that you can be free later in the day. Take advantage of any free time you have in classes, in free periods or even during lunch to do some of your work so that you have more free time after school, and can also go to bed earlier. Use a planner to mark when big assignments are due so that you can start them ahead of time and you don’t have to pull all-nighters cramming for them.
Plan fun activities to reward yourself
After 12 years of strenuous classes, and involvement in clubs, sports and activities, you deserve to have a break every once in a while. The school year does not have to be terrible! Reward yourself once a week to a fun activity with your friends such as going out to dinner, getting ice cream, or going to a football game or a concert. My friends and I would pick a school night or two each week that we would take a 1 or 2 hour break from studying and just drive around blasting music. It was the perfect relief from school stress without completely disrupting our schedules.
Don’t quit everything you were involved in
I know that tons of seniors decide to quit all of the sports and activities they were involved in so that they can focus on having fun and hanging out with their friends. I debated dropping my sport (rowing) as a senior and even my parents encouraged me to quit to focus on school, but I ended up deciding to do it anyway, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. For one, it kept me in shape and healthy. I know that if I didn’t do crew and I would have lost motivation to work out at all of my senior year. In addition, I am much more productive with my work when I have a packed schedule. Because I had crew for so many hours of the day, it taught me to do all of my homework effectively in short amounts of time. And lastly, during my senior year in crew, I grew the most as an athlete and had the most fun socially out of all of my years. So if you have enjoyed the activities you are involved in, I would suggest staying involved in them at least a little bit, in order to keep you motivated, as well as to strengthen the relationships you have with the people in these groups.
Even though senior year can be stressful with things like college applications, prom, social events and graduation, it can also be a lot of fun! Don’t take any of your remaining time in high school for granted because pretty soon you’re going to be thrust out into the real world!
Which grade was your favorite year of school? Comment Below!
If you liked this article you might also enjoy reading:
- Must-Read Books This Summer
- Finding Time to Better Yourself and the World Around You
- Keeping Your Brain Sharp this Summer
- 10 Ways to Stay Productive This Summer
- Tips and Tricks to End Procrastination
All articles submitted to Everly Mag are property of Everly Mag and the writer only and may not be copied, reproduced, or duplicated in any publication or entity. Everly Mag © 2018. All Rights Reserved.
Check out Everly Mag on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.
Feature Image Credit: Redd Angelo via Unsplash
