Senior year is a tricky time. All throughout college, you want it to be your senior year until you actually get there. Then, you begin to lament the few short months you have left with your friends. If you want to maximize the remaining time you have in college, here are eight tips for having a successful senior year:
Chances are, you’ve completed all your credits towards your major by the end of senior year. Instead of taking an elective that pertains to your major, sign up for a class you never would have considered before. If you study natural sciences, try ice-skating! Maybe you’re an English major, and you’ve always wanted to take a course in marine biology. Don’t let the fear that you won’t be “good at the class” stop you from taking it. Remember, it’s your last year of college—you don’t want to waste your final semester in a boring lecture. Explore the list of courses offered on your campus, and venture outside of your comfort zone.
If you had a positive experience at your school, you’ll probably want to cherish every memory you can. What’s the best way to immortalize the past? By using a disposable camera. Sure, the camera on your phone does the job just fine, but don’t you want physical pictures to look back on? Tuck away your photos in a keepsake box, or for extra sentimentality, in an album. Film photos also make for great wall decorations. Display your developed pictures around your first apartment after school!
At this point in your career as a student, you have (hopefully) learned not to care what other people think of you. That’s so middle school. Embrace your individuality by dressing how you want! Whatever you were too scared to wear freshman year, flaunt as a senior. College is a formative stage in establishing our identities, and in turn, establishing our own personal style. (Corny, but true!). Instead of showing up to class in sweats, take some time to put together an outfit you feel confident in.
It’s always a good time to create a vision board, but I highly encourage making one senior year. As a senior in college, the future may look uncertain. You might not know what your exact plans are post-graduation, and that’s okay. Visions boards will help you actualize what you want your future to be like. Not only that, but vision boards will instill you with the much-needed motivation to finish school and achieve your goals. I made mine on Pinterest, but if you want, you can make a physical collage. Use magazine clippings or pictures printed from online!
I don’t just mean to “clean your room.” I mean, you should clean your room—a clean space is a productive space!–but that’s only a small facet of the cleansing sesh I’m talking about. A cleansing sesh should be physical and mental. First, take some time to clean your mind of any negative thoughts. Maybe you’re holding onto some thesis-related stress, or anxieties surrounding your job search. Though they won’t permanently remove your worries, try these tactics to stave off the negativity. First, you should keep a journal to record your daily thoughts and feelings. Second, establish a healthy work-life balance. In between job interviews, do something you enjoy doing, whether it’s a favorite hobby or watching Netflix. If your fears intensify, it might be beneficial to seek professional support. Go into graduation feeling your best!
If you have your own car and can easily drive to campus, don’t have your parents drop you off at the start of your senior year. Drive down there yourself! From personal experience, having a car on campus has been a game changer. Besides Uber (and a very unreliable student shuttle), there aren’t a lot of transportation options where I go to school. Having a car has allowed me to explore more of the area surrounding of my campus, as well as run errands with ease. As a senior, you might be itching to leave campus. If you have a car with you, you and your friends can take a road trip, or simply check out the city your school is in.
I realize that this is a very specific tip. What I did when I studied abroad was create a TikTok account, in which every video was a montage of trips and other memories. Though you don’t have to make a brand new TikTok account, I suggest posting a video compilation of highlights of your senior year. This can be a continuous video, where you start filming at the beginning of the semester and end at graduation. If you have footage of your freshman year, it might be a sweet gesture to include those clips, too. See how far you’ve come since then!
At least for the most part, try to avoid bagging out of plans with friends. In fact, you should do the opposite. Make plans with friends, both old and new. Try something you’ve never done before: have a themed party with your friends, check out a new thrift store…the possibilities are endless. You’ll want to cherish the time you have with the people at your school before you all graduate. While you might be too tired or reluctant to attend some plans, chances are, you’ll end up having a memorable time. The alternative would be to sit in your room and stare at the ceiling. That wouldn’t be a great way to end college.
However you choose to spend your senior year, try not to waste too much of it stressing. Life after college may be uncertain, but life in college is what you make of it. Enjoy it while you can!
Feature image source: https://pin.it/30nVszN
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