President Obama tells us, “Yes, we can,” but I just don’t think I can, finish school that is. Seniors everywhere, (and sadly even some juniors), are catching the deadly, infectious, and overwhelming sickness that is, ‘senioritis.’ Sure it might not be in the big book of illnesses but it’s real. Trust me. Seniors throughout the halls of any high school are dragging their feet to their next class, rolling their eyes at the tardy bells, and zipping away their binders with over ten minutes of class left to be able to be the first out the door.
Why does senioritis take over ever year? What causes it?
I think my own personal senioritis stems from the terrifying idea of growing up and starting my life. I put off homework and take a little longer to get out of bed every day in hopes of slowing down the time I go off to college. Four more years of even harder work? Oh no.
College is slowly creeping up on us and while I’m ready to move out, I’m also terrified of many things that come with college. Like what about what happens after college? At least once we are graduated from high school there is still a path to follow. After college, life starts. I’m terrified of going to school for four or more years, graduating, and then not being able to find a job.
High school is easy compared to the life we have ahead of us. We go to school from 8:45-4:00 with summers and holidays off plus teacher in-services. Adults don’t. After school is over, summer breaks are over too, permanently.
I think being a high school teacher would be a great job. There is never a last anything like there is when you’re a senior. After a bad football season, a teacher can always say, “There’s always next year.” Teachers can hold on to the youth of high school for their entire career.
It’s strange because as a kid, all we want to do is grow up but as an adult, all you want to do is be young again. Maybe that’s because it doesn’t get better as an adult. What if the best years of our lives are right now but we’re so busy wanting to grow up that we miss out on so many things? What if life doesn’t get any better?
Perhaps one day we’ll all wake up when we’re 60 years old and realize how many things we didn’t accomplish; the number of life experiences we didn’t have. I dream of living in Seattle or New York City at some point in my life. But at the same time I also want to live in the middle of nowhere to experience that too.
Some people have to plan out their lives. Every detail whether it is about where they want to live or the kind of wedding they are going to have. I’ve learned in the past year that life does not care about plans. Even following the schedule of a day is difficult for me let alone a life plan.
Some seniors have senioritis because they are just ready to be done with high school and cannot wait to grow up and never deal with homework again. Not for me. I need time to slow down. The idea of what lies beyond college is petrifying. Of course, there are many successful and happy people in this world so perhaps I’m just freaking out over nothing at all. I hope life is only terrifyingly scary because I don’t know what will happen. The unknown is the most frightening thing I face in life. But I’m sure I’ll do just fine.