Second Semester Stressors; Related to Seniors
Going into the second semester has all taught us many things, like beginning a fresh start to a new beginning towards the end of the year. We begin to think about how we can be more productive, while maintaining good grades. This year going all online has taught us many lessons. In terms of being hard on yourself in some ways but understanding where living in difficult times currently has made things harder. We can reflect on the beginning of the year and that past two quarters, going into a new semester to better ourselves. This is our academic performance, in all of our classes overall. We have to keep our grades up, Meet with our counselor’s, and reassess our extracurricular involvement at this time.
Thinking back to the beginning of the semester, we all progressed in ways we didn't know could happen being partially in person or all online for some of us. When thinking how it feels going into the second semester, it's the marking period and definitely different for everyone. For me it's a shock that the first half of my senior year is practically over, and feels surreal to be honest. While talking to a senior at Harborfields High School, Gavin Sandal gave his perspective on how it feels being half way through the year. He stated his opinion saying, “I’d say good and bad. Normally it sucks, but the thought of senior year being half way over is crazy. I am really excited, but this is going to be the last year and it's crazy that these 3 years are almost over.”
Is the new quarter starting affecting us academically and physiologically? This is a question that we can think about in many ways. Yes, starting a new semester or quarter can affect us in so many ways, being that we finally are starting fresh again. While having this fresh start ahead of us, it begins to present to us the opportunity to be more productive but in what ways? George Pryor, a senior at Harborfields, stated his opinion on this being, “In a new semester it gives us a mental cooldown. It motivates with willfulness with having our grades starting back again at 100.”
It is a crazy thing to see that our senior year is flying by, especially if we are looking at some of us being fully virtual or hybrid. It's sad to accept but it's the inevitable and the reality of high school, and it comes down to making the most of the rest of your senior year if you are a senior. To those in the younger grades, there's a long journey ahead of you with a wide range of opportunities that will be brought upon you especially with the starting of a new semester.
We need to enter this new semester with being the most positive we can, to maintain a good outlook towards the end of the year approaching. When reflecting on the past semester, I asked a student at Harborfields, George Pryor, if the first semester went well for him. He stated, “Yes It went great. It would've been one of the best years I've ever done. Since colleges are still looking at your senior grades, and online helped me a lot.”
Lastly, to pull this topic together, I’d like to say that this semester may be the most stressful for a lot of us due to the increased amount of work, since the end of the year is approaching in a couple of months. Especially since some of us are submitting applications to the final colleges we're applying to, or figuring out where you want to attend school for next year, and on top of schoolwork which can get overwhelming. But as long as we keep having hope, and keeping our heads down focused on the right things we will conquer this quarter strongly. High school is something that prepares us for the rest of our lives and for college, and we need to take as much as we can from it. As stressful as school may be, we still need to enjoy the High School experience to our fullest potential and this can happen with finishing out a strong second semester. Keep the drive and perseverance you had started out in the beginning of the year, to make sure you finish out strong.