Adjusting from summer to school

It’s that time of year again. School time. No student likes this time of the year but most parents love it. The first day of school is excited yet awful. Kids complain how summer wasn’t long enough and how they never want to see the sunrise again unless they’re pulling an all-nighter at their friends’ house. Parents love school because their children are finally out of the house and actually doing something productive instead of sleeping in until noon and keeping the couch warm.

While school does add structure, it also adds stress. Especially to senior students fighting off senioritis and trying to get applications, essays and schoolwork done. Although most seniors don’t want to apply and waste time doing essays that could make or break their application, it is extremely necessary to do these tasks and meet college deadlines. At Stoughton High School, at the end of junior year, every student receives a red folder that contains everything needed to make the application process smoother. It has recommendations deadlines and even helpful tips to make life as easy as possible during the stressful first months of senior year. Many seniors doing college work are also involved in sports and other extra-curricular activities that add even more time constraints. The seniors are only concerned about senior privileges, the pep rally, and getting to mid-May where they get to sleep in once again. All the other students are worried about making the grade to move on to the next year.

And who can forget about graduation, Party All Night Long and most importantly, prom? The night some people (mostly boys) dread. Prom tuxes and dresses are expensive, as are the tickets. The pressures of asking someone to the prom and getting rejected are all too real. It’s a night some people will never want to forget, even though some will.

Seeing the list of obligations and events is almost overwhelming, however we've waited four long years to get here and I don't want to miss a thing.