Stepping Back from Senior Stress

Senior year is a mixed bag. Starting school as a senior, I had the same sensation as the first time my parents left me home alone overnight: a feeling of superiority that I had finally attained the level of independence to warrant such a privilege.  This was accompanied by feelings of crushing fear from the noises and shadows in my house at night.
As seniors, we know that Trinity is our home. We rest easy in the knowledge that our professors know us, some even like us. We know a little better how to navigate Hartford. Above all, we have our collection of friends and memories from the past three years. At the same time, we realize there are no longer upperclassmen to host the parties or to offer insight on classes or professors, and we are no longer watching from a distance as people stress over applications to graduate schools or jobs –– those stresses belong to us now.
A crucial part of senior year is fielding those stresses that accompany moving on from undergraduate education –– we probably should begin to plan for something after graduation. We also get to enjoy senior seminars, or capstone courses, and embark on our senior projects. Yet, as the pace of my life has been slowed to crawl from a recent case of “Trinfluenza,” I had a moment to look around and realize that those obligations and stresses should not consume my year.
The “enjoy college while it lasts” spiel is old and clichéd, and to a degree, I am ready to be done with undergraduate classes, and certainly with dormitory life. Nevertheless, this is our last year, our last fall, and this coming weekend will be our second-to-last Trinity Days.  Though it is extremely easy to slip into panic mode as it seems “adulthood” and “the real world” are fast-approaching, I suspect after graduation, and perhaps years down the road, our truest regret would be wishing away the days of our final year at Trinity.
This is my plead to the senior class: slow down a little even when it seems like there is not enough time to shower, let alone to stop and smell the roses. Now is the time to do the things we have been putting off for a later date. See Hartford because, despite our immediate surroundings, it is a city worth exploring and has been your home for the past three years. Take advantage of what Trinity can offer and seek involvement with the school, whether is through attending shows at Austin Arts or Cinestudio, sharing your opinion through the Tripod, or getting to know the faculty.
I think we owe it to ourselves to get to know Trinity and to let Trinity know us –– it is not like anyone can hold it over us next year.
-JYC