With the 2023-2024 school year coming to a close, many seniors are getting ready to step into a new chapter of their life. After students at Seminole High School (SHS) graduate, their story will begin to change, and it is because of this that many seniors feel a sense of unease arising.
“Senior year coming to an end is pretty nerve racking to think about, especially since everything we are used to is going to go through a dramatic change. It does not matter if you go to college, trade school, or even take a gap year, things will be a lot different. We all start to really grow up. Graduation is a huge deal and it is pretty scary to think about. I can not believe that everything is coming to an end so soon,” says Melia Gibbons, a senior at SHS.
How Students Can Cope With The Anxiety Of Graduating In A Healthy Way:
Try Not To Overthink It: Thinking too deeply about graduating can be daunting. Students should instead consider graduation a next-step that they will step into, and not the ending of their story.
Talking To Someone Who is Trustworthy: A student dealing with being worried all by themselves can be difficult. Letting them feel is essential in order to remove the burden. Whether it is a teacher, an adult, or even a friend, opening up will make the stress day a lot less stressful.
Do Not Think About The What Ifs: Students should attempt to not worry about messing up in the future. Constantly asking the question “what if?” could cause doubt in themselves. They should substitute these feelings with focusing on the now and being positive about the future.
Taking Care Of Themselves: Worrying about the future leads to the student forgetting about taking care of themselves. Self-care is a great tool to get rid of stress and to calm a student down.
Graduation anxiety is a very common feeling that most seniors —both highschool and college — experience. It is a type of anxiety that is a combination of stressing and feeling unsure about the future. This causes a lot of students to feel tension in the weeks/days leading up to the big day. The symptoms include guilt, difficulty sleeping, decreased appetite, reduced energy levels, and even general loss of interest. These can be hard emotions to deal with, and can ultimately lead up to a student giving up on their academic success.
Anastasia Williams, an SHS senior says, “I know I am not the only one who is counting down the weeks both in excitement and nervousness. I have already applied for Seminole State as well as FAFSA, and things are going by so fast! But, I know I should be way more happy than sad. I am definitely excited to start living my life, adulting, and taking my next big step! There is no use in just looking at the negative and/or stressful part of graduating, we should all look more towards the positive and/or happy side of things.”
SHS seniors should enjoy and honor themselves on the actual day of their graduation. Focusing too much on the negative could take away from remembering that graduation is something that those students truly earned. They should be excited for it and have the most fun they possibly can these last couple of weeks. The end of the next few weeks marks a new era in the students’ life. Although the anxiety affects most seniors, it is not something that should hold students back from celebrating all of the hard work that they have accomplished!