Senior year burnout
One thing after another. It feels like the practices, performances and events never end. Not only do the extracurriculars fill up your free time, but so does the school work. Except, the more things you’re committed to the less time for the load of work there is. It’s a never ending cycle with you feeling tired and burnt out by the end of it.
I think most people can attest to this, especially those constantly involved in leadership positions while taking many advanced classes. The feeling of burnout is more common than you think, with everyone striving to have the best grades and to do as many extracurriculars in order to appeal to college admissions.
I was part of this as well, specifically during my senior year, so that I could boost my school involvement. I’ve always looked up to the people taking tons of AP classes while being in events like sports and still having time for hanging out with their friends and family. It even influenced me to sign up for leadership positions in the extracurriculars I was extra passionate about.
At first, the tasks seemed manageable. However, with senioritis driving my motivation for this year, my carelessness for school work along with the stress from my coinciding extracurriculars really caused my mental health to fall below what it usually has been.
Although I got to meet a lot of new people, taking on too many responsibilities, especially those that interfere with each other, really took a toll on my stress levels. It felt like I was running back and forth from one thing to the next, with practices back to back, making me stay at school until 9 p.m. on weekdays. Even my parents and friends took notice of my mental stability, seeing that my acne was getting a lot worse. Sometimes I didn’t even have enough time to hang out with my friends and even had to miss out on family reunions to attend mandatory events.
I continued doing my extracurriculars, not even with a single consideration of quitting because I had the slightest bit of hope that colleges would see my dedication. To my disappointment, I got a lot of rejections from schools I thought I had a good chance of getting into.
With senior year ending soon, I believe that although it is good to involve yourself in school activities, I think taking time for yourself is a priority. My mental well being this year has been a lot worse due to the fact that I constantly felt like I never had a break.
My biggest piece of advice for those going into senior year is to make it the best year and to not overwhelm yourself. Just know that burn out is not something you want to experience in your last year of high school.
Burnout is definitely relatable, this past school year has been crazy. The highschool experience should be something that you should enjoy, and being aware of how much stress you are putting on yourself is important. The best thing to do is step back and take a break when you are starting to feel overwhelmed. Prioritizing your mental health over school or work is very crucial.
Senioritis is real.
I relate to this so much, I have felt burnt out a lot this year. I agree with your advice to upcoming seniors to make the best out of the year.
Even after getting most of my work done for the school year, I still feel that burnout. I feel like I’m in a cycle where I don’t get work done, and as the year approaches its end, I am glad it is all coming to a close for now.
I am feeling this right now. This article is very relatable and I hope you know that you got this Ethan!
I mean the work of life never ends, the time you get to rest is spent worrying about the next assignment. Or the next test, or the next project. We have been sentenced to a 12 year contract of school in which we work for a living, but instead of working 9 to 5 were working 8 to 3. And when the ultimate “break” is here after graduation we have to get a job, and move out and start doing the work that really matters. So i understand why kids are burnt out by senior year, hell im surprised it didnt happen sooner. But we have to do it because its whats socially acceptable.
I feel like acknowledging this strain and working to lessen it will benefit not only the seniors who struggle but everyone here. This school does offer a great deal of different opportunities for students with many different interests to participate in. Unfortunately, this can make for very burnt-out students. This does not even cover those who have simply felt the burden of schoolwork and other situational factors that have built up other responsibilities and stresses into their lives. Following the communal struggle of distance learning, I have hope for the mutual understanding between staff, teachers, and students to deepen as life can be very unpredictable and we should strive to understand each other better instead of simply shaming or punishing someone’s lack of motivation or energy.
I can relate to this so much, and I’m not even a senior. The amount of extracurriculars and AP/honors classes has really taken a toll on my motivation to do great things mostly because its constant work without the reward of a break. Especially with music performances and sports events, it really eats up your time and I need a lot of that time to study for my AP/honors classes, especially with AP tests around the corner. It honestly just makes me feel tired at the end of the day, but I love the things I do so I can’t seem to quit either.
Burnout is something that is very common. And sometimes very hard to get out of that burnout ditch. Managing school, work and other activities can be hard on students mental health.
I’ll be a upcoming senior year next year and I’m scared that I won’t be able to have time to hangout with my friends and have to miss out on family reunions was well. However, I hope that the senioritis doesn’t kick in and make me have to feel burnt out all of the time. Hopefully, the time management for me will be better and be able to help me think about all the activities I can do outside of school. Thanks to the advice to have a fun year next year will help me to determine if I should do a lot of things in senior year or not. This also make me realize the mental health of what I have right now during junior year and wonder if it’s actually good or not especially this year. I wonder if it would be a healthy one next year in senior year.
I think this is important for every high schooler to know because people put a lot of emphasis on doing all these extracurriculars and after school activities to get into college. I am not saying that they don’t matter but I am saying that in your senior year of high school you have to realize it is your last year and you don’t want to spend it stressed out. But also that if you spend it doing all the extra activities this article is a testament that it still doesn’t guarantee that you will get into the schools you want to attend. Your high school experience should involve things that are fun for you. Yes, you should do your best to excel academically but it shouldn’t just be because of college. Make it count for something for you not for someone reading your file.