It’s happened: I’ve caught another case of senioritis, and this time it has hit me like a semi-truck. I started experiencing symptoms at the start of this semester, and unfortunately, from a lack of proper treatment, I have now broken out into a full-blown itch of excitement and anxiety about next year while experiencing headaches about my last four.
In one way or another, I am sure that all of my fellow seniors are experiencing similar signs of senioritis – fatigue, lack of motivation, disinterest in attending classes (especially the ones that don’t even take attendance), worry about future plans, and an extreme desire to make this last year the best one yet. The responsibilities of senior year overpower the best of us with the pressures of classwork, job searches, grad/law school applications, theses, and club positions, not to mention our social lives. With all of these duties that we must manage, it is no wonder we are itching for the end of this last stretch.
I think now, as the fall semester closes out and we all get to recharge over the break, is a great time to reevaluate and get to the bottom of why we have come down with a case of senioritis.
First thing first: let’s WebMD this shit.
We already know that senioritis is caused by the inevitable burnout from academia and the worldly stresses of the next year. And even though, yes, this is completely true, I think too much credit is given to these outside pressures. When we focus on our burnout, we are living too much in the past. Alternatively, when we focus on next year, we are living too much in the future. This duality, of choosing to live in either the past or the future, is the cause of a lot of our depression and anxiety. I specifically say that we choose to live in these realities because no one but ourselves is making us do that. Society pressures us to, but no one is in control of your life but you, so ultimately it is on us to choose whether or not to lug around this baggage of the past and future.
You can see where I’m going with this. I am going to repeat what every gen-z podcaster says, and tell all of us that we need to ditch these two false realities that we have taken on and choose to live in our presence instead. When we completely focus on the here and now, it is impossible to be either depressed or anxious. Now, don’t go rolling your eyes at me; I know that depression and anxiety cannot be whisked away so easily. But I do think that these two things are actually what is at the heart of any case of Senioritis. When we carry the burdens of past assignments, projects, club responsibilities, and dating drama, while simultaneously trying to piece together our five-year plan, we all are going to experience some serious mental stresses. And we can only live like that for so long.
So my advice (that I am also trying to take): accept ownership of your presence. It is the only reality that you need to be absorbed in. When we let go of the past and future and focus on the joys of now, we can all go on to enjoy every second that we have left of our senior year. Figure out what brings you bliss, and do those things every single day. We are the programmers of our own subconscious, so feel empowered by that and start molding it how you want. Live in the now and you will feel so much peace, and trust me, you will only be setting yourself up for success.
Can’t get enough of HC UMass Amherst? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, listen to us on Spotify, like us on Facebook, and read our latest Tweets!