Senior Year Problems: Sleeping > Partying

By Rachael Smith, Student at Radford University

I have never felt more like a grandma than in my senior year of college. The irony is astonishing.

These are supposed to be the best four years of our lives, but why do I feel like I’m wasting away my last year asleep in the bed and crying the senior year blues?

At our first freshman year registration, it’s common for the advisers to place us in Gen Eds (AKA the easiest classes ever). I took all intro classes like Psychology, Sociology, Art of Jazz, Music Literature, etc. I breezed my way through that first year -- half skipping class, sleeping in, eating in the dining hall, watching “The O.C.” and listening to “Party in the USA” every day and partying. What a life.

I took zero of my major classes until second semester of my sophomore year, so I wasn’t exactly passionate about any of my courses and hardly had any homework. So now that I am knee-deep into my journalism classes, working a part-time job, constantly out covering stories, editing the school newspaper until 2 a.m. and somehow still in a sorority, when I get free time, all I want to do is sleep. Unfortunately, when I get that free time, it’s the weekend.

But I’m 21 ... finally legal! I can finally go to the bar with my friends and sing bad karaoke versions of “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” Instead, I’m drooling all over my pillow at 10 p.m. on a Friday. So what’s a senior gal to do when she can’t keep up with the 18-year-olds anymore?

If us seniors want a chance of getting a decent job after graduation, we have to make sure our grades stay up. A trick I have found that helps is to hit up a study building on campus a few nights a week instead of attempting homework on my bed hunched over. I get into my comfy sweats, pack up my laptop and find a cozy corner to set up my work. I find that if I make that extra push to get there during the week, I have less distractions and get my work done.

I promise I know how insane this sounds, but go to bed by midnight or at least 1 a.m. It’s unhealthy to pull all-nighters; your brain can remember more if your body gets the rest it needs. Wake up fresh and make a cup of coffee, and hopefully by the weekend, you can hit the bars.

I met my best friend freshman year, and she is going through the same thing as me. So, once a month, we have something we call “Freshman Night” when we remember that we are the youngest we will ever be and hit the town hard going to apartment parties with the rest of the school and dance and stay out all night. It’s a nice treat when you’ve worked your butt off all week being a “mature” senior.

Remember, one day you will probably be a mother with a demanding job and once in a while you will probably wish to go back to college. Believe me, I know it’s hard work, but college is the one place you will be surrounded by the people who are your age, so soak it all up. If you are a freshman or sophomore, enjoy your free time and don’t waste it away. Explore the city and get away with crazy things!

If you’re a senior like me, make time to be 21 and enjoy your last year of college! It’s the best four years of our lives!

Image courtesy of Michal Marcol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net