Senior year: navigating it from someone who experienced it
Senior year. The year everyone has waited their whole lives for, the year we have anticipated since we were kids, watching those disney or nickelodeon episodes on graduation. Getting excited at the idea of having our own perks of being a wallflower experiences. Since freshman year, we have slowly become one year, one month, one week, one day and eventually even one minute closer to graduation, closer to walking across that stage, getting our diploma and going off to college. The big question though: is senior year overrated?
While you are going to experience some pretty major life changes, not everything has to depend on your senior year. Your social groups, your experiences, what parties or dances you go to, none of it really matters at the end of the day. Now I’m not saying none of it is important and you shouldn't go out and have fun, but don't put so much pressure on yourself to go out and fit the expectation of “living your best life”. It gets so overwhelming when you are stretching yourself so thin simply in the name of having fun.
What you have to understand is that our brains are still growing and developing. Our dopamine levels are rising, every high you experience feels higher than you've ever experienced and the lows feel like you are going to never make it out of them. Every heartbreak you experience feels like you will never be able to stop the pain and be able to love anyone ever again. The good news about this, is that all of those developing synapses and chemicals and connections in your brain come and go. Your brain will readjust back to normal, and everything will well and truly be alright. Now something you have to remember about this: while you are going through college applications and receiving your acceptances as well as rejections, your feelings of disappointment and self failure will pass. Your worth is not tied into your senior year, and the colleges you get into or even don’t get into.
The best piece of advice I could give is to prioritize yourself, figure out what you want and who you want to do things with. Remember that everything you are feeling is simply chemical reactions that come and go. Surround yourself with people you trust, but don’t be afraid to let people go. Be as comfortable with yourself as you can be. Get to know yourself, take yourself out on dates, experience new things if you can. Get through senior year the way you want to and don’t let anyone else's expectations, wants or needs prevent you from doing what will make you the most happy. Senior year is a time for you to grow as a person and figure out what truly makes you happy, especially in exploring where you want to end up in the future.