The last year in high school is full of emotion. For some, it’s a realization that you are almost done with mandatory education, coming to the end of chapter you know so well and excited with all the events you have always heard about and want to take part in. For some students, senior year is the last leg, the hardest leg, the one that requires that extra push.
Similar to running a race, and being a few meters away from the finish line, it’s important that you finish well despite giving your best effort at the beginning of the race, it’s how you finish that counts. This “mood” and level of motivation, or lack there of, is known to some as “senioritis. If senioritis is hitting you hard, here are a few things you can do boost your mood and make your senior year a little more enjoyable.
1.Put in that Extra Effort with Your Friendships
Given recent events, it is important that your practice safety measures. However, it’s also important that you maintain your important relationships and friendships. Senior year can be a whirlwind of emotions. Many people want to stop putting effort into their relationships and friendships because everyone is moving away anyway, so why try? To live through your senior year, as opposed to surviving it, be intentional about your relationships. The extra support with others who understand the journey at this time in your life will be priceless and can make all the difference to your overall experience.
2. Make as Many Memories as Possible.
Great memories make up our positive experiences. Take the opportunity to create some fun and memories with both friends and family. I would hate for you to get to the end of your senior year only to realize you didn’t make any work remembering. Senior year can be busy, but scheduling time to meet with a friend or a small group of friends at a coffee or ice cream shop can be so worth it. The conversations to be had and the laughter to be shared can make for great memories. Who knows, you may build longer lasting friendships because of it.
Participate in as many senior events as you can, including senior nights and prom. You can also arrange a senior photo session with your friends. These professional photos can go along with you to college and are a keepsake you can look back on, again and again, years from now. In the month of September we will be hosting “Personality Portrait” session in Roswell, GA that are 30 minute each. This would be a great way to record those memories. Click here for more details.
3. Be Thankful for the Experience.
The power of thanksgiving and gratitude has a grand effect on your mind, body and your soul in my opinion. It allows you to magnify the good and shrink the bad. I will be honest, even as an adult it can be a challenging task to find yourself in a place of gratitude when you right in the middle of difficult situation. So I journal. Some vlog, mediatate, others praise and worship and some just speak out loud. Whatever approach you take, be thankful for how far you have come and for all that lies ahead. You are about to close an important chapter and set out on a new adventure.
If you are feeling particularly stressed and low on any given day, simply jot down 3 things you are thankful for and watch how quickly it lifts your mood and changes your perspective.
Senioritis is a reality, but you will get through it. You will never get this year back again, so do everything you can to make the most of it. Be intentional and watch this year be one of the best memories your have created.
