Handing Senioritis During Your Last Semester of College
By Tracey Rector, Alumna of IUPUI
There’s roughly a month left of school left, and for many, it’s the very last semester before graduation.
There’s always that last month. It’s the month of school unlike any other because it’s filled with finalizing projects, papers and tests — only for this month, it’s the last. At this point, you’re probably tired and losing steam. Sound about right?
“It’s rough,” says Brittany Haak, who is currently working on her master's degree in social work at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis with a concentration in mental health and addictions. “But you have to keep reminding yourself that it will greatly improve your future and that is worth all the agony and time spent.”
It’s easy toward the end of any semester to slack off — especially when you’re tired and it’s your very last semester of school. Senioritis is a different kind of tired than just being done with homework for the night; sometimes you can feel no matter how hard you know you should work, you just have no desire.
However, no matter what you’re feeling, you have to muster up the energy and finish out the semester well. You’ve spent the last four or five years working hard … what’s another few weeks?
Emily Diekelmann is in her last semester at Georgia State University and will be graduating with a Master of Science in sports administration.
Over her years in school, the biggest thing for her was to keep it all in perspective.
“As much as I wanted to be done with school, I knew that I still had a lot of work to do and I didn’t want to trip at the finish line,” she says. “Knowing that in a few weeks it will all be over is what gets me through the late night study sessions and 10-page papers.”
That’s just it. It will all be over soon. In a matter of weeks, no matter what happens, your papers and projects will be due and you will have final exams. Then you’re done. That’s it.
In the meantime, don’t tear all of your hair out. Don’t allow yourself to get too stressed out because that isn’t going to help. Take some time for yourself and have fun.
“It’s good to let your hair down from time to time,” Haak says. “You have to have some fun to help you get through it, or else you’ll be much more miserable than needed. Once it’s all over, you feel an incredible sense of accomplishment as if you’re on top of the world.”
You really will feel on top of the world when it’s all over. Work hard, and you’ll do great. Then you’ll be onto your next adventure!
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