I love senioritis.
Why? Some will ask. You don’t do anything. You just stay lazy and waste time. Sometimes that someone is you.
People who judge you without making an effort to understand your perspective often bring you unnecessary misery. We all want to be understood and supported. Unsympathetic judgement is the direct opposite. If people are intentional in not listening, then please keep some distance away from them.
Plus, these questions are stupid. They don’t result in any actual progress, perhaps other than satisfying the speaker’s ego. If you hear those judgmental remarks, will you think okay, this person just nullified my current state of being, so I better bust my ass to show them I’m legit?
In my case, I would actually not give a damn even more. Comments intended to drive my fighting spirit will most likely backfire.
Why? Some will ask. You don’t do anything. You just stay lazy and waste time. Sometimes that someone is you.
People who judge you without making an effort to understand your perspective often bring you unnecessary misery. We all want to be understood and supported. Unsympathetic judgement is the direct opposite. If people are intentional in not listening, then please keep some distance away from them.
Plus, these questions are stupid. They don’t result in any actual progress, perhaps other than satisfying the speaker’s ego. If you hear those judgmental remarks, will you think okay, this person just nullified my current state of being, so I better bust my ass to show them I’m legit?
In my case, I would actually not give a damn even more. Comments intended to drive my fighting spirit will most likely backfire.
Who usually make these negative comments on senioritis in public?
Parents, teachers, other people's parents, highly ambitious peers, and perhaps the media.
To these commentators (who you don’t want to hear from), I want to say two things. First, none of you freaking business, especially if you are not my mother. Why are you so concerned about me, in the first place? Second, even if I am slacking off a little, that’s temporary. I just need a break.
Senior Year Sucks
Very often, people lose track of the game they play. It’s hard to focus on the long term, when short termism drives so many people. This also applies to many high school students, since they know something feels wrong, but they don't know what exactly is wrong. Some students burn out due to the stress from college application and adolescence in general.
College admission and the ensuing educational arms race is a prominent and sad example of morphing an infinite game (lifelong education and self-development) into a finite game, under the guise of achievement and holistic review.
I remember sleeping four hours every night for weeks and weeks, just so I can study for half a dozen AP exams and prepare application for fifteen universities at the same time. Add hours of band practices and cross-country training, I pretty much burned out all of myself. In hindsight, it's really silly, but no one told me at that time, this game is insane, don’t do it too hard.
When Dave Chappelle talked about how people get trapped, I felt chills down my spines. We are minors, so why are we doing something this insane? On the other hand, what can we do with so little power?
When more than a third of U.S. college students have some form of mental health conditions or straight-up depression, shouldn't the adults in power take a pause? What the hell happened? Why is this happening? What have we done to the kids?
In the current system, higher education determines way too much of one’s life trajectory. The more society cries for education and advancement, the more we shove kids down that narrow and insidious pipeline. It’s nastier than sausage factories.
I remember sleeping four hours every night for weeks and weeks, just so I can study for half a dozen AP exams and prepare application for fifteen universities at the same time. Add hours of band practices and cross-country training, I pretty much burned out all of myself. In hindsight, it's really silly, but no one told me at that time, this game is insane, don’t do it too hard.
When Dave Chappelle talked about how people get trapped, I felt chills down my spines. We are minors, so why are we doing something this insane? On the other hand, what can we do with so little power?
When more than a third of U.S. college students have some form of mental health conditions or straight-up depression, shouldn't the adults in power take a pause? What the hell happened? Why is this happening? What have we done to the kids?
In the current system, higher education determines way too much of one’s life trajectory. The more society cries for education and advancement, the more we shove kids down that narrow and insidious pipeline. It’s nastier than sausage factories.
When entrepreneur Peter Thiel's talked about the super-track, I jolted in response. For many young people, college is the path to take when they have no idea what to do with their lives. Damned if you do, more damned if you don’t. We end up in either student debt or face societal disapproval. It’s hell either way.
Note: I am mentioning Thiel solely for his stance on higher education. This reference does not endorse his political opinions or his positions in other topics.
Note: I am mentioning Thiel solely for his stance on higher education. This reference does not endorse his political opinions or his positions in other topics.
I feel I was personally very guilty of this; you don't know what to do with your life, so you get a college degree; you don't know what you're going to do with your college degree, so you get a graduate degree. In my case, it was law school, which is the classic thing one does when one has no idea what else to do. I don't have any big regrets, but if I had to do it over I would try to think more about the future than I did at the time... You cannot get out of student debt even if you personally go bankrupt, it's a form of almost like indentured servitude, it's attached to your physical person for the rest of your life. - Peter Thiel
The Silver Lining
Senioritis, the February to August of senior year, has the potential to be one of the most liberating times in your first eighteen years. It’s one of the few chances you have to literally do nothing, because that is exactly the right thing to do. Of course, senioritis isn’t as productive for students who opt-out of the elite college admissions bloodbath. I still think every student should take this time to not focus on being productive, the way educators define such term.
School already destroys so many people's drive to learn. I think senioritis can reset that destructive process. It may even get kids to enjoy reading, writing, and ultimately learning again
Senioritis was a great time for me. I took the time to heal my body and soul. After graduation I spent the summer in Spain. It was one hell of a trip. For the first time, I realized how to be okay with taking a break and just exist, with no fear of the future or any negative emotions brewing inside. That feeling helped my anxiety level again and again in college.
I had no regrets taking care of myself, though I wished more of my friends could have enjoyed that time. Instead, many of them waited in angst for college admissions results and never caught a break until AP exams were over.
What Can We Do?
Here are some things I’d tell myself, my friends, and all current and future high school seniors.
What Can We Do?
Here are some things I’d tell myself, my friends, and all current and future high school seniors.
Start reading whatever you want. Everyone reads a lot in elementary school, but not anymore. If you find YouTube more interesting, go watch more YouTube. The only rule is to browse actively and be in control of your consumption. You have already gone through enough passive courses and test prep. Be engaged with things, because passivity numbs you and numb sucks.
I really enjoyed reading Battle Royale, a book that inspired Japanese movie and the video game genre. It's a beautiful book about friendship, humanity, and how messed up things can get. I read it in one go, similar to how Harry Potterengaged me in a multi-week reading binge. I also loved Haruki Murakami's short story collection Blind Willow, Sleepy Women. It was a great bedtime read.
Do something meaningful. Hobbies and projects are fantastic, go all-in on them. If you don't have one, find a job that pays minimum-wage, which is quite abundant for teenagers this summer. You will start with minimum wage, given how little or no real work experience you currently have. But I promise it’s worthwhile. You will understand the value of internal motivation and the value of a dollar. Now the government has taken some of your hard-earned money, you will also pay more attention to taxes.
Do something meaningful. Hobbies and projects are fantastic, go all-in on them. If you don't have one, find a job that pays minimum-wage, which is quite abundant for teenagers this summer. You will start with minimum wage, given how little or no real work experience you currently have. But I promise it’s worthwhile. You will understand the value of internal motivation and the value of a dollar. Now the government has taken some of your hard-earned money, you will also pay more attention to taxes.
Spend time with yourself and others. Be honest and open. Thanks to social media, pretending happens more often than being authentic. Isn’t it nicer to relax, breathe, and not fake anything? When you are by yourself and with friends? It feels so much easier to be with people, when I don’t have to fake anything.
Learn some practical things. Driving, cooking, laundry, chores, neat handwriting, etc. You might as well. You’d be surprised to find out how many people who don’t know how to do laundry or cook (or do many so-called basic tasks) in college.
Most important, have fun! Teen movies don’t always give us great role models, but the energy and spirit are awesome. Do things reasonably. Don’t end up in the hospital or the police station. Don't do American Vandal type of stuff, even though the story is hilarious. There are so many ways to have fun without getting in trouble.
In the end, I want to share Paul Graham's excellent graduation speech (that he never got to give). It's much better than what I wrote here and serves as my inspiration for this piece.
I wish you lots of happiness. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to email me at michaelhe@hey.com