All through high school, I have heard jokes and warnings from teachers about “senioritis”. Seniors often lose motivation in their last year, particularly after applying for college. As someone who has fought procrastination my entire life, I expected to fall victim to senioritis. Interestingly enough, the opposite has happened.

Recently, I’ve been finding myself putting more value than ever into my grades. I’ve been studying more and utilizing my free time better. This has put me in a small group of students who haven’t been hit with senioritis. I believe this is because I’m not ready to let go of high school. I feel as though I have “mastered” high school. I know how to study for this level of tests, using my fill-in-the-blank notes and my hand-crafted study guides. I want to hold onto this for as long as I can. In high school, I have gained the comfort of knowing that I can understand any material that I am given if I study hard enough. College feels like a new and scary type of learning, one that I am scared that I am not prepared enough for. I worry that I will struggle to manage my time and figure out a new method of studying that is more appropriate for college courses. I worry that I won’t be able to do it without the close relationships that I now have access to with my teachers.

I hope that I am not the only one who is struggling with this “reverse senioritis”. I would like to offer advice, not just for myself, but for anyone else who may be dealing with these issues. Yes, you will probably struggle to manage your time. I know myself and my tendencies, and time management is going to be a big adjustment for me. I have always had a pretty busy schedule, so ample free time will be hard to use wisely. This is something that I will have to work on, but definitely, something that I am capable of figuring out. I also will probably struggle to study in the beginning. As long as I put in the effort to discover new methods of studying, I will be okay. Most importantly, I like to remind myself that this new level of education is going to help me grow as a student and a person.