After over two and a half years of attending school through Covid-19, seniors have been thrown into their last year still feeling like sophomores. The pressure to make up for lost time, line up a post-grad job/get into graduate school, and still maintain a social life that was lost during lockdown, is an overwhelming amount of expectations. Seniors are left wondering how to make the most of their last year in college after so much of their experience was impacted by a global pandemic.
Making the most of your senior year is not about building the best resume, going out the most, or checking everything off of your bucket list. Your senior year is the last chance to make an impact on your peers and your university. It may seem too late to try new things, but as students are flooding back to campus after attending “Zoom University”, there couldn’t be a more perfect time to get involved. Just because it’s your last year doesn’t mean you have to stop trying new things. After months of routines surrounding screen times, getting back into campus life can be daunting, but making the most of your senior year means pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.
Coming back from isolation makes pushing yourself even harder but it’s even more important to assimilate back into a social environment. However, there is a difference between stepping out of your comfort zone and forcing yourself to do things you don’t want to do. There’s no reason to force yourself to go out, hang out with friends when you really want to be by yourself, or go to events you have no interest in just because your friends are. Taking time for yourself and prioritizing your mental health is important in order to keep your sanity amongst the pressures of graduating college during a global pandemic.
Practicing self-care and prioritizing mental health goes beyond bubble baths and sheet masks. Surrounding yourself with people who make you feel positive and support you are essential self-care practices. By senior year, it’s usually clear what friends are genuine and who contributes to your positivity. Prioritizing that and putting the effort into genuine friendships will help to develop a solid foundation with friends you want to stay in touch with after graduation.
After a difficult year and a half in quarantine impeding on students’ college experience, getting back into campus life can feel useless, but there’s still time left before you put on that cap and gown. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone by trying new things and getting involved in campus life is a great way to feel a part of your college again before graduation. Practicing self-care, prioritizing your mental health, and cultivating a friend group based on positivity will also make all the difference in making the most out of your senior year.