Dealing With High School Seniors

We're angsty for a reason, folks

If you’re not the parent, guardian of, or remember with stunning accuracy what it’s like to be a high school senior, then this is your guide to how to deal with one. Pay close attention and take notes, you never know when this may come in handy.

According to some study I read last year that I cannot find, nor do I care to because I can personally attest to its accuracy, your average high school student burns out somewhere around or during junior year. My own personal experiences aside, I can tell you that’s the truth based on the down-curve of optimistic or even relatively happy Facebook status updates from my classmates from August 2009 - May 2010. As far as most high school seniors are concerned, they’ve paid their dues and then some; we are ready to break out.

But, before we even get the idea of freedom near our grasp, one thing comes and smacks us in the face: the college admission process.

Now, this blog is already about going through the whole process step by step, so for now I’ll skip to the part that involves you: the non-senior having adult who may come into contact with seniors. Since our nerves are already frazzled and our minds are weighed down with decisions that have the power to drive our futures straight into the ground, we tend not to take others into consideration, which means you should when you approach one of us.

If you’re a relative of a senior, especially one that doesn’t see said senior more than once a year or so, try not to start your conversation with “Hey, Senior child I hardly ever see, since I have nothing else to talk to you about, how’s the college search going?” You will probably receive either an eye roll or a depressed sigh before the senior begins to respond as quickly as concisely and possible. Oh sure, that question seems harmless, but when you’ve heard it twenty times already from other family members who don’t know you well enough to strike up a real conversation, it’s enough to cause an otherwise sensible teenager to snap and I guarantee it won’t be pretty. Just imagine a 17 to 18 version of that Jet Blue flight attendant going off on people at your family reunion, throwing people’s dirty laundry out over the loud speaker, grabbing a hot link, and hot-wiring their grandmother’s car so they can escape the madness. 

Okay, it’s unlikely to happen, but you’d be surprised how many of us would love to. 

Please tread with caution

If you feel the need to make small talk with a senior, but have no other points of conversation to start with, you may go ahead and bring up college, but if you must I implore you to keep it brief and keep it simple. We’re being pulled in all different directions and one more hand in the game of tug-o’-war is not likely to help. If you’ve got nothing else to say, it’s alright. We honestly don’t mind.

Really, senior year is already pretty stressful without the obligatory questions from family members and family friends adding to mix. Depression and anxiety come in all forms, people, so try and give the seniors in your life a break. Ask them about something as stupid as the weather, we’ll probably laugh for moment, but it’ll more than likely be a very welcome change from the usual.

Undergrad: The Best 4 (or 5) Years of Your Life

It seems like such a cliche to say so, but I really believe that college is the best 4 to 5 years of your life. Where else can you live off of $ 20 for a month? At what other point in your life will it be acceptable to wear the same clothes days in a row? Unless you're lucky enough to land a job where your work hours are noon until 3, at no other point will have so much time to waste doing absolutely nothing while having fun doing it.

My Advice for College Students

1. Going in undecided isn't the worst thing in the world. Use the time to discover your passion.
2. If you must change your major, try not to wait until your senior year to do so.
3. The weekend starts on Thursday so try to avoid taking Friday classes if at all possible.
4. The freshmen fifteen is real. Do something about it before it becomes the senior sixty.
5. Don't leave your textbooks lying around, especially during finals. College students are too broke to worry about whether or not it's morally wrong to 'appropriate' your book, especially if it's an engineering book. They bring in big dollars at book buy back. Don't ask how I know, just trust me.
6. Get to know your professors. You'll need their recommendations for grad school.
7. Know someone in the financial aid office, the dean's office and any other office that can assist you.
8. Join student organizations that are related to your major for networking purposes. And join a few that are just for fun.
9. Call/text/e-mail your parents at least once a week. This will save you from pop-up visits when they begin to worry because they haven't heard from you.
10. Live, love and learn!

I have very fond memories of my time in college and with few exceptions, I wouldn't trade it for anything. So what about you? What life lessons learned on campus would you share with someone heading off to school?