As senior year dwindles down, senioritis creeps onto all of us. This epidemic sweeps the nation annually. If you are a senior and have not been infected yet, you are doing a great job! Keep up the great work. On the other hand, if you are infected, the only advice I can give is seek a cure immediately.

I have recently almost fallen victim to this disease. I came into senior year with the mindset that I would dominate all my classes. I was sure my defenses were bolstered and would be impenetrable as long as I was organized and spent my time wisely. But what I failed to foresee were the excess stresses and tidal waves from the college application process. Arguably, the college process started ever since freshman year and has always been lurking in the shadows. But it did not officially reveal itself until this year. The first wave was the SATs. Then came the wave of college essays along with little forms and questionnaires to fill out for each college. While these tasks were not too difficult, they were definitely time consuming and tedious. It’s an obstacle that’s meant to be chipped away at piece by piece. Keep in mind, you have to also send in test scores for each college on Collegeboard’s website.

Just when I had made it through the college application process and caught a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel, the FAFSA and CSS profile struck me. Well, that process wasn’t that bad. It was more on my parents, but I had to constantly remind them and make sure they did it. While this is all going on, there is high school to still keep pace with, homework to do and exams to study for. Last but not least are scholarships out there that must be hunted down and applied to. I am still within that process but everything has calmed down a bit.

Now it’s the waiting game. In a month, I will hear back from my colleges and soon after, I will have conquered high school. Before I know it, I will be opening the doors to a new journey into college. Let’s do this.

– Harry