We’ve all heard about the senior slide. It’s that magical year we’ve all secretly been since the beginning of freshman year: the feeling that embodies taking off your bra after a long day. It’s the time to show up to class in sweats. It’s the time to wash away useless anxiety and just live life.
Well, enter 2020, and the new senior struggle is anything but what I mentioned.
I write on behalf of the class of 2021. We were swept into chaos. It started off as just a few weeks in March. After juniors returned back to campus from abroad, we felt the “crusty and dusty” flu, overwhelmed by the young and beautiful freshmen. Just as we gained our confidence and accepted our role as seniors, COVID-19 decided to rain on our parade. In the moment, it seemed that she had taken a brief fraction of our year from us, replacing our beloved campus with Zoom University for the short while. And then…another quarter? Goodbye summer plans of sweet senior release. Zoom again in the Fall?? No… not Winter. We now all face what no one wants to speak of, let alone accept: an online graduation.
I’ll be the first to admit it: I was craving to go home prior to COVID. For the first time in my college experience, I felt hopeless. My beloved housemates and best friends had graduated. I experienced sexual assault abroad. And, I just wanted home.
And then, my wishes came true: I went home. At first, I was thrilled. My family finally reunited, we got a puppy, I facetimed my friends every day, I was cooking up a storm, I learned to adapt and run outside (a true shock to anyone who knows my love of the O’Malley treadmill). Everything was great.
But then, good ole’ COVID-19 and the crushing pressure of senior year hit. At first, it took the form of a mild anxiety. Then, the stress of getting an internship amplified. Internships were cancelled. Well, I’m doomed. LinkedIn job searching? The amount of times I’ve been scammed– girl. Blaring and heart-wrenching racial injustice. The election ambiguity. Our nation truly suffering. And after all this… going on Instagram to see people partying on campus and somehow vacationing in tropical islands. Going on LinkedIn to see friends getting full-time jobs. Oh, and to add insult to injury: receiving horrendous, misogynistic, dated professional advice from professors, such as “Just do what you’re passionate about” and “It’s all serendipity!” Girl… In the back of my head, all I could think was, “no, it’s all connections. It’s all privilege.”
So, I’m not going to wrap this up in a pretty bow and tell you what to do. Quite honestly, I want this to serve as an opportunity to speak freely. Let’s not pretend to be great all the time. Guys, we have been through the ringer. And, there is no better feeling than feeling like you’re not alone; someone else, another bronco, is going through it too. To be frank, it would be bizarre if you felt perfectly fine right now.
In a way, class of 2021 (and all classes), we are redefining the senior slide. Proudly, we will pop up on Zoom in our sweatpants, video on or off, depending on our vibe. And, we will sign off after professors imbue us with their advice. Just prepare for the new pathway: no connections, no privilege, just our strong and authentic selves.
I am proud of each and every one of you.