It’s time to debunk all the contradictory senior year advice

Stop playing with us

If you thought middle school was a confusing time, just wait until senior year in college. While everyone is quick to give us seniors advice on how to spend our final year before entering the “real world,” all the advice is contradictory, which is not helping the confusion.

“Do everything” vs. “Take it easy”

Our first dilemma is simply figuring out how to spend our time. Half of people say, “Do everything because it’s the last time you’ll get to do these things.” They’re not wrong. When will I ever get to do a radio shift, direct a TV show and sleep until noon all in the same day again? There are countless classes we can take. Rather than taking nine credits our last semester, why not fill up our schedules and take advantage of all the course offerings? These are (possibly) the last classes we’ll ever take. Have fun with them, but don’t waste credits on topics that won’t help in the future.

The other half of people say, “Take it easy and only do what makes you the happiest because it’s your last semester.” When will we ever get to have few real responsibilities again? When will we ever be surrounded by thousands of people our same age who consider going out and getting turnt their main responsibility? Probably not until we’re in a retirement community. But then the responsibility becomes bingo. So take that extra nap even thought your essay due tomorrow hasn’t been started. Because you can!

“Take time off” vs. “Get a job”

We’re going to be working for the next 5o years, a fact that few people will let us forget. Many people give advice to take time off and travel or relax after graduation. There will never be a time in your life you’re in as big of a transitional phase as you will be in May. Take advantage of it!

Ah, the dreaded j-word. It makes every senior cringe, especially once the spring rolls around. You’ve been warned. The pressure that is put on us to find jobs before we graduate is intense. And while the simple fact is that it’s okay not to have a job right away, we’re constantly pushed to start looking at jobs now.

“The real world is better than college” vs. “College is the best years of your life”

No homework, not extracurriculars, no tests. You work from nine to five and suddenly you have nothing to do from five that night to nine the next morning. There’s a thing called free time in the real world. Something few of us have experienced the past four years. You don’t have to pack your life up every May and move it to a new room that feels like it’s half the size of the one you had last year. You don’t have to apply to internships and jobs every summer and wonder where you’re going to be two months from now. Everything is pretty mapped out and stable.

Sleeping all day, picking your schedule, getting summers off. The perks of being a student are like no other. They’re so great that some call college the best years of their life. You’re surrounded by friends with the same interests and professors who guide you through life. You have a built in social life with extracurriculars and school events. Once you’re in the real world, you’re on your own.

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Ithaca College