The epitome of a second semester senior is procrastination, exemplified perfectly by the fact that this article was written in the very early hours of the morning. A lack of motivation is a very common side effect of being a senior, let alone a senior that is only a month away from graduation. Thirty days, eight hours and 34 minutes away from graduating, to be exact. The countdown to the event that signifies freedom and adulthood is just around the corner as seniors struggle to come to grips with the drastic changes that will come.

Although the idea of graduating seems to be the highlight of a young adult’s life, many students question their futures. For example, Nikki Central for College Parent Central writes, “There are six factors that may affect [a senior’s stress levels, being] the fear of leaving home, the fear of finances and the fear of the unknown.” Since most are either 18, or soon to reach the adulthood-defining age, we like to pretend we know exactly what we are doing, and how we are going to live past graduation, but even the most confident of students struggle.

On top of the stress that comes from college decisions, budgeting for tuition and many more pressing tasks, second semester seniors tend to attribute their lack of motivation and procrastination to “senioritis.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “senioritis” as “an ebbing of motivation and effort by school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences and lower grades.” At a high school with rigorous academics, it is easy to fall behind. Clare Cronin, senior, confirms the difficulty of being a second semester senior with “second semester [of senior year] is rough because the motivation is just not there.”

Along with all the academic difficulties, being a second semester senior means college is quickly approaching. Cronin comments that being so close to graduation is “exciting but bittersweet because leaving all [of my] friends and family is going to be extremely difficult and emotional.” Katy Ma for Huffington Post advises that all high school seniors “make time for others [and to enjoy] the little moments,” as the high school experience will be a time of a person’s life that all people eventually become nostalgic over.