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If you’re a senior in high school (or even college, for that matter), you’ve probably been battling a lack of motivation for the last few months—the dreaded senioritis. I get it, I feel it too. Even if you’re not a senior, it can be really hard as a student to find the motivation and focus to push through the last bit of the school year before entering summer break. I admit to having senioritis; I don’t want to do any of my homework and would rather add extra stress by procrastinating to the period before an assignment is do. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot I can tell myself to change my mindset, and there’s even less I can tell you to help get you back on track. But I do know this: senioritis comes from the monotony of doing the same thing over and over again each day. High school just gets old after doing it for four years. So while I may not be able to help you stay interested in keeping your grades up, I do have some fun ideas for breaking that tediousness and helping you enjoy your final time as a high schooler.
Before we get into the fun stuff, you should remember this (even though I’m sure counselors and teachers and parents and blah blah blah have already kindly reminded you): your final grades do matter to colleges. After the school year ends, your last transcript will be sent to your school of choice. If they see that your grades suddenly tanked in the last semester, that can reflect poorly on you. Not to mention, all of your hard work for the 3.5 years leading up to that moment would go to waste. If the thought of that scares you, then good. Let that fear fuel you next time you’re considering Netflix over math homework. 😉
It’s your last few months of high school EVER. Take advantage of it by attending a bunch of events! I realize that senioritis means you’re probably sick of your current school and just want to get out of there—trust me, I really understand that. But as silly as it sounds, I felt that way when I was “graduating” 8th grade also. When I look back, I regret not enjoying myself more the last few weeks of middle school. Instead, I was just bitter and so excited for high school that I ignored everything else. Take it from someone with experience: if you socially check out of high school before it’s over, you’ll probably regret it after the fact.
Obviously events vary by school, but here are some of the things I plan on attending to keep the last few weeks of high school interesting and exciting:
- The final music concert. Every year of high school, they’ve had one last music concert in either April or May to end the school year. This time, I’ll actually be in it because I’m taking a guitar class. People at my school only ever go to music concerts for extra credit, which is sad. Grab a friend and turn it into a fun night out instead—swing by the concert to support your classmates and then get ice-cream afterwards (that’s my plan, at least).
- Senior Night for a sporting event. I play high school tennis, so theoretically I might have a senior night of my own. But sometimes these can be fun to attend for other sports as well. Last year, I spent a lot of time going to my school’s baseball games. I didn’t even know that many people on the team or know anything about baseball, but those are some of my favorite memories of high school. It was so fun to do something different than I usually do, and the comradery of a baseball game on a warm spring day just seems quintessentially American. Plus, they had really good chorizo dogs for sale…So I would grab a tasty dinner and sit down to watch some ball! I definitely recommend taking the time to watch a friend’s sporting event and support one of your school’s teams.
- The talent show/art show. Last year, my school planned the talent show and the art show on the same night in April to bring in an extra audience for both. Unfortunately, I was participating in the art show (I wore this purple dress) which meant I couldn’t attend the talent show. They’re doing the same thing this year, and I’m super excited to attend both to see my fellow students’ talents and cheer on my art friends. I even encourage you to participate in your school’s talent show, if you have something to perform. Last summer, my friend and I actually planned to do a dance routine at the talent show as seniors—we figured, why the hell not! If we completely embarrass ourselves, at least it’s only a few more weeks before never seeing most of those people again. Ultimately, the talent show snuck up on us before we could plan it. But I still encourage you to YOLO (that was only half serious, by the way).
- The school play. Along with the music concert, there’s always one last play in the late springtime. I’m not sure what our drama students are presenting this year, but I attended a play in 11th grade and it was super fun. Again, just grab some of your friends (maybe smuggle in some popcorn) and enjoy a night out.
- Senior-Out-to-Lunch. We have a closed campus at my school, but seniors have the privilege to go off campus for lunch once a month. For our final senior-out-to-lunch, my friends and I are planning to go to a park and have a nice picnic. We’re going to bring food to share and Martinelli’s with plastic champagne glasses to celebrate the end of high school. I can’t wait! If your school doesn’t have an off-campus option, you can still plan to have a fancy lunch one day or even plan a picnic for a weekend. You and your friends deserve to celebrate your high school achievements!
- Senior party. There’s always a group of parents at my school who step forward to plan a fun party for the senior class the night of graduation. You have to pay to attend, and I think it’s mostly to keep students out of trouble that night…Originally this wasn’t something I planned on attending, but my friends and I all decided we should go and have one last hurrah with the fellow classmates we probably won’t see again. I’m actually really looking forward to it, and it will be the very last thing to finish off my high school experience.
This is quite the long post, so one more thing before I let you go. If you’re into crafts, then I highly recommend making yourself a high school scrapbook! I started gathering all my supplies and photos yesterday. You can add things like photo booth slides from formal dances, ID cards, old doodles, sporting event tickets, goofy photos with your friends, graduation announcements, and any other high school mementos. That way you can keep them all in one place and reminisce on high school when college becomes too much. I’m really excited to start this project and show it to all my friends once I’m done. Already, it’s helping me remember all the good times I had in high school, even though right now it seems to be only stressful and tiresome.
I hope this post helped you to fight some senioritis, even if only a little. I figured a Monday was the best day for this post…Ha! Stay strong my fellow high schoolers—only a few more weeks. Thanks for stopping by today and have a great day!
Miles of smiles,
Grace
Green Tee: A.N.A. via JCPenney, $20 // Black Cargo Shorts: A.N.A. via JCPenney, $16 // Mint Sandals: Younker’s, $20 // Black and White Sunglasses: Charming Charlie, $7 // Green Beaded Belt: JCrew, $25