It can be rough out here for us seniors. We’re supposed to be having the time of our lives, soaking in our last few months of college freedom, getting a job and keeping up our GPAs. So how do we balance becoming adults while taking advantage of the final months of the “best years of our lives?” This is VALLEY’s guide to maximizing your final semester by juggling the semester of yes with the semester of solitude.
Semester of Yes
Now is the time to be checking off all of the bucket list activities you and your friends have been pushing off since freshman year. We’re talking sparking up a conversation (or other things) with the willard preacher, performing at “gaffeoke,” hiking Mount Nittany and whatever else you and your friends have been meaning to do but haven’t. So next time your roommate brings up what movie is playing at the State Theatre, that they want to paint pottery at 2000 Degrees or go to a random bar you’ve never been to, say yes! As sad as we are to say it, our days at dear old state are numbered: it’s time to embrace the semester of yes.
Procrastination is the killer of spontaneous fun.
We all love to lounge. And sometimes in the pursuit of rotting on the couch with the roommates, we push off the looming canvas notifications. Even though we all do this, in our last few months of studenthood, it’s in all of our best interest to knock it off.
How are you going to spontaneously go to Cafe 210 West after class or beat the Doggies line if you push all of your assignments off until the last moment? We’ve all used the excuse that we do our best work “under pressure,” but now is not the time. Do you really want a discussion post holding you back? Finish your work; we’re going out.
Prioritizing your fun doesn’t mean putting your future aside
Learning to schedule or keeping a planner probably should have been a priority earlier in your college career but it’s never too late! The hardest aspect of senior year isn’t just balancing school with your social life but on top of that having to also find a job (or study for graduate school exams, applications, etc.) Whatever it is, planning your future is a daunting task to have looming over you at dollar-vodka-soda-night at Champs.
It’s okay to not have it all figured out but you’ll feel a lot better if you cut out some time in your schedule each week to do just that; figure it out. Whether that means blocking out time to sharpen your resume, save some jobs on LinkedIn or have an existential crisis, it’s worth making time for.
Finding the balance between not taking life too seriously, and having to start taking it more seriously, is scary. But we’re in it together.
Let VALLEY know how you’re balancing your semester of yes with a semester of solitude @VALLEYmag on all socials!
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A Love Letter to the Pattee and Paterno Library
Every Last Sip of Senior Year
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