June the 21th

Unlike many of my classmates, I was not hit by the incapacitating phenomenon that strikes so many in the fourth year of high-school, commonly known as senioritis. As the year drew to a close, I became appalled by the distinct lack of effort and focus that people were putting into class. I was utterly shocked by students who decided to simply skip the last week of school. And yet I continued to struggle on through the end, packing the last bits of my high-school education away in my mind along with the reviewed materials for finals.

In the first couple days of the summer however, I've come to the realization that almost all the seniors of my class seemed to come to vastly before me: we should focus our energies on that which we hold dear and care about.

For many people, school come very low on this list. The last thing they want to do with their time is waste it away sitting through classes in which little is done, and even less is expected of us. If we don't care about school, why should we keep worrying about it when it won't matter in a day or two?

And yet I hold strong to my rally against senioritis in school. Primarily, what can I possibly hold dearer to myself than my own future? The last few weeks of school are still weeks of school, and there are still things to be learned despite our best efforts to keep teachers from loading their classes. How can I possibly be helping myself by sitting in class, not doing the work, and being bored?

For so many, the high school somehow takes on an air of entrapment. We come to believe that the only reason we are there is because we have to: we are forced to sit through each moment against our wills. Given the chance to escape without punishment, these people will clearly jump at it. I believe, however, that high school is truly a freedom. In it, we are free to learn what we're interested in, the explore the limits of our capabilities, to make and explore relationships: how long can this opportunity possibly last?

I have never understood people who wish time away. Spending time with friends and family, I realize that I have indeed spent much more time on academics that was likely necessary. There are very few people who would characterize me as a social person for good reason. Yet I see this only as that much more a reason to avoid living from weekend to weekend, school year to school year for these "freer" times of our lives.

To the seniors of 2010: Use every moment you can. Try to get as much as possible from every part of the year, and you won't get bored, you won't get frustrated, and most importantly, you won't regret wishing away your high school days.

Moral of the story: If you're bored, you're not trying hard enough.