Senior year might seem like it’s the perfect time to slack off, right? You’ve probably already been accepted to a college, and now you have time to spend with all of your friends before you graduate. However, as tempting as it may seem to take it easy and let your grades slide during your senior year, you may want to think giving in to senioritis. Why? Because some colleges will rescind their offer if the feel like you haven’t held up your end of the deal. If you were accepted with good grades, your school may expect you to maintain that same level of academic achievement during your final year.
So, how do you do it? How do you resist the urge to slack off and enjoy the last year you’ll be spending in high school?
- Have fun while working hard. Just because you still have work to do doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself. Use the time in your senior year to try new things you haven’t – tackle a new skill or subject you have always wanted to try out. Now that your time spent preparing for the SATs, searching for schools and filling out applications has passed, take the newfound free time to enjoy yourself.
- Stay focused and make a plan. Set goals for yourself to achieve throughout the course of the year. Make your goals smaller and reasonable so you can accomplish them one by one. Don’t overwhelm yourself – you’re not slacking off, but you should still be enjoying this time in your life. Sometimes senioritis hits when we’re just feeling overwhelmed and don’t want to take on the tasks in front of us. By setting attainable goals and staying organized, you can fight the feeling to give up.
- Keep your friends in line. Senioritis is made to sound like a virus for a reason. It spreads. ONce your friends start slacking off and spending more time enjoying themselves, you’ll want to slack off too. Keep your friends motivated. Put together study sessions or groups where you can get work done but still hang out. Find new, fun ways to work on projects together. Don’t follow the crowd. Lead it.
- Take time to enjoy yourself. Yes, you do want to stay focused and performing well during your senior year. But it’s also your only senior year, and it may be the last time you get to spend this much time with all your friends together. Keep your goals and work in mind, but make sure you are taking time once in a while to just enjoy yourself. Allowing yourself to let go once in a while will help you keep focus when you need to.
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