This is it, guys. If you’re Seniors, you’ve more than likely already begun getting e-mails about senior checkouts, when to get your cap and gowns, and information about senior rings and portraits. You’ve probably seen signs around campus marking how many days until graduation (I know we at Delaware are well under the 100-day mark), and local restaurants have signs up about making graduation dinner reservations.
While all of this sucks (who actually WANTS college to end?), we can’t help but feel apathetic, and the senioritis monster beginning to engulf our bodies. On one hand, you wish you didn’t have any school work or responsibilities left so all you could do your last couple of months at school is party. But on the other hand, you know you need to keep your GPA where it’s at. Otherwise how are you going to get a job? Oh right, you also need to job search. Unfortunately the weather is getting nicer, time is winding down, and the senioritis is absolutely winning the argument. If you say you’re hitting the books as hard as you did last year or even last semester, you are a liar. It’s natural to feel this way, and it’s natural for your grades to slip a little, but for those of us who still want to be top-notch students, even while total complacency has set in, here are some tips to hold on to your GPA while still enjoying those last couple of months to the fullest.
What You Want vs. What You Need
I wish somebody taught us this 4 years ago, because it’s quite possibly the most important thing to keep in mind. You know how when you diet, the successful professionals tell you not to fully cut anything out, because you’ll ultimately crave it so badly that you’ll end up binging? They say: if you don’t obsess and make your goals all you think about, you’ll end up seeing stronger results. Well, the same concept is applicable here.
If you want to do something, say go out Monday night because there’s a band you love at a local venue, then GO. Don’t let anything stop you. If you have a test on Tuesday, you’ll be ok. Maybe you’ll start studying a little earlier so you can go out without worry, or maybe you’ll just cram on Tuesday morning. Either way, it’s something you want to do, so you’re either going to do it or it’s going to consume you. Don’t stress it. Look at the things you want the most, as needs. If you don’t satisfy them, you’re going to be a cranky, miserable person who will look back come May, and think that you missed out.
Make What You Like Doing Part of Your Schedule
Also something that would have come in handy a few years ago. I like to travel. I like to take random trips for random reasons. So what did I request? A column in the school newspaper about traveling. It’s called Day Trippin’ and a fellow writer and myself travel throughout the just-out-of-reach areas of Delaware and report back on the food, nightlife, people, and things to do. Sorry Math Teacher, I couldn’t make class today because I was working on my column for Tuesday’s paper. Perfect excuse.
This can be with anything – not just writing. Join a club sport, and you’ll get to miss school for away games, like the guys on the Delaware Club Water Polo team. Play an instrument and you’ll not only get credits, but also get to hit up most major sporting events. If you incorporate the things that you love doing into your schedule, it won’t be so invasive or intimidating. And as you can see, some of them can even make good excuses for being lazy about class.
Be Busy Now
When you make yourself busy, yes, it is easier to get overwhelmed and throw in the “I hate school” towel. However, it also leaves much less time for procrastination. If you have class, then work, then extra-curriculars until 6 p.m. and you want to go out tonight at 11, that only leaves five hours for you to eat dinner, get ready for the night, AND get that work done. The end result is that you have to get it done at that time because there is no other option.
This headline is “Be Busy Now,” because once Spring Break ends for most schools, there are less than eight weeks until commencement. The weather will be warmer, day drinking will be factored in to 90% of the student body’s planners, and reservations will be needed for happy hour. You’re not going to want to get everything done, and add resume fillers within those last eight weeks. Get that all out of the way now so you can squeeze every last drop out of the last weeks of college.
Run Away
I don’t know about you, but when I get overwhelmed I start making mistakes. I slack off on everything because I lose track of what’s important and what’s not. So what I do, and what seems to work, is I run away home for a few days. Just getting away from all the requirements, and demands of your time and presence, is very beneficial to your sanity. I highly recommend it.
The ultimate goal is to not let school get in the way of your last months of college, but keep your grades up as well. And it’s possible, once you realize you can – and must – cater to both.
