Ah yes, winter, a wonderful time of year. Crystals of ice flutter in the December wind, and the joy of college acceptance reverberates throughout the 6th Form. As the number of colleges a senior is accepted into increases, their motivation wanes proportionally. How one deals with this conundrum is simple, slip blissfully into a senior slide.
Firstly, forget about that term paper you have due in February. Use your free time to relax, and practice your ‘college-style’ lackadaisical napping skills. All good thoughts, truly, have been fueled by caffeine at approximately 3:30 in the morning. Surely, you won’t regret the memories you made instead of spending hours in your room doing ‘advanced-comparative-multivariable-semi-philosophy history of medieval architecture.’
Obviously, you don’t want to completely neglect your responsibilities. At least not immediately, that is. Don’t stress yourself over menial assignments, nothing is worth losing precious sleep over. Enjoy your classes for the sake of actually learning something, even if you did forget to do the homework, and the classwork… and that one project that was due about a week-and-a-half ago. I’m sure you’ll be be fine.
When you have the urge to doze off in class, give in. Freud demonized the superego for a reason. Let your id run wild, besides you’re already into college. Doodle to your heart’s content, and work on that billion dollar idea that will make your entire bloodline affluent. That’s what this time is for, to form the most fundamental characteristics of your identity.
Perception is key when you’re at the steepest part of the senior slide. Even if you had no work the night before, and don’t anticipate doing anything the following day, bring a ‘slack-pack.’ That is, an empty backpack, worn solely for the sake of having a backpack. Your perfect studious composure, masking the crushing emotional turmoil of the latter part of your last year at Hill, will make you a beacon of hope for the younger students.
Don’t get discouraged, the journey through the senior slide can be perilous. There may be nights when, as if by primal instinct, you wake with a start because you didn’t do any homework. Yes, you might find yourself with a 50 percent in English 4 AP, or a 38 percent in Spanish 4 AP. Don’t let the numbers scare you. You will, invariably, be 100 percent fine.
Don’t mind the disappointed looks in your favorite teacher’s eyes as they ask you what went wrong. Don’t feel bad that your pretty 4.94 GPA has changed into a destitute 2.45. Regardless, you’re into college, the sky is blue, and you can practically taste and smell the dyed Dell water. It will be brilliant. Enjoy it while you can, because sooner than later you will be left wondering what happened to the precious little time you had here, and wishing you could do it all over again – the right way.