What no one tells you when you start university is that it’s most likely not going to end with a bang. It ends with forcing yourself to class, counting down the days until exams are over, and making post-grad plans.
Senioritis is real. For me, at least. It has manifested within me as burnout, anticipation, and the feeling that I have simply done enough.
Sometimes it looks like laziness, but it feels like a mixture of grief, nerves, and exhaustion. As I enter the second half of my last semester here at Carleton, I feel I’ve discovered how to manage it as best I can.
Acceptance has brought me a great deal of peace in this area of my life. There is a strange sadness in knowing something is coming to an end, while still living it.
Accepting this feeling, as confusing as it is, has proved extremely helpful. Time will move no matter what, and change will happen no matter what, so accepting it early on makes it easier to experience.
The emotions around it all are mixed, making the path to graduation all the more confusing. I am eager to graduate and move on, but simultaneously, I never want to leave my friends or the life I have built in this city.
Reminding myself that I can enjoy post-grad when it happens, and for now, I should live in the moment, is something I do almost daily.
The affirmation helps nonetheless. Enjoying the last few months living with my roommates and intentionally living in the “now” is something I aim to do each day.
Another part of the degree-ending struggle is the anxiety over what comes next.
Whether it’s finding a suitable masters programs, polishing the resume for job applications, taking a year off, or pivoting into something else completely, pressure comes with it all.
Thoughts of “Am I good enough to succeed,” or “What if this doesn’t work out for me,” are rushing through all of our minds.
To challenge this, I have found that sharing these thoughts with my other graduating friends is the most beneficial.
Opening up a conversation of relatability alleviates the stress more than anything. Although everyone is stressed, there is comfort in being in it together and helping each other through those nerves.
As the school year wraps up, whether you’re dealing with senioritis or not, it’s important to take everything one day at a time, as it comes.
Preparation for the future is important, but it does not need to mean obsessing over others’ LinkedIn posts or having everything sorted out in your early 20s.
My advice is to accept it and live it, even if you have slightly grown out of it. Enjoy the time left, be excited for the future, and appreciate it all as much as you can.