The days for AHS seniors are now numbered yet painstakingly ordinary. The routine appears to be too typical. It’s reliably gloomy outside as most of this class pulls up to their assigned unassigned parking spot. Walking into first period fashionably late, these seniors have been wiped of most if not all interest in learning something new or completing a task full heartedly. Like stacking rocks, the imminent hardships and stress of school that have piled up on this senior student are prone to lose stability and collapse. Thankfully, a number of fellow seniors have shared their strategies to stay standing and finish this clip of life with strength and motivation. 

To gather an accurate representation of this issue, an extensive variety of seniors here at AHS were given the opportunity to exploit their current tactics or plan of action.

“To be honest, crying helps me a lot; and the fact that I don’t want to get kicked out of my house” says Kaitlyn Darby (12). According to MedicalNewsToday, crying in response to anxiety or worry releases teardrops that are filled with some stress causing hormones and other chemicals. While most seniors would most likely admit to not crying under stress, it seems to be the solution for one, if not multiple students.

However, fellow senior Chase Miller has an alternate way of confronting the issue: “basically I just dropped three classes this semester to ease things”. In total agreement, Lance Claborn (12) admitted that he took significantly easier classes for the second semester. Could avoiding stress by dropping classes be an efficient way to keep motivated to reach the bare minimums for graduation? It appears to be working for Chase and Lance.

Soon into this investigation, the social aspect of this issue was brought into play. Upon being asked what motivates this individual to stay strong in school, Denki Lissa (12) asserted that he “doesn’t want to look like a loser,” and that dropping out of school, “doesn’t get the ladies”. Does there exist a social pressure to do well in school? While it could cause more stress or anxiety, graduation from high school will generally put people in more of a successful lifestyle. According to educationdata.org, high school graduates will make about $200,000 more over the course of their life opposed to high school dropouts.

Quite possibly one of the most practical yet dangerous ways to lift pressure off one’s self is to establish pre-arranged days to skip. Although this strategy is not recommended and is actually encouraged to not practice, some students have found relief through it. “Oh yeah, I skip at least one day per week” explains Ben Johnson (12), a bright student at AHS who has completed multiple AP classes. On a more uplifting note, Nolan Malme (12) states that he wants to “finish strong” because he has gotten so far anyways. While the latter of the two strategies is more desired by teachers and the general public, it is important to know that these other tactics exist.

While senior’s days are counting down quicker than ever, freshmen, sophomores and juniors could very well be in the same shoes. In this case, it’s considerably important for these classes to take note of these strategies.