Last semester, I found myself entering my final year at McGill with a very foreign feeling. Many of my friends in my program had graduated the previous spring, and the unfamiliarity of the new faces around campus felt confusing and slightly distressing. Returning to school only to feel like a stranger can be a desolate sentiment.
Senioritis is a silent affliction that creeps up on you when you least expect it. You might confuse it for early-semester jitters, maybe because you’re taking upper-level classes, starting a thesis, or applying to grad school, and all of this is new to you. Here is some friendly advice on how to say no to the final-year blehs.
The strangers around campus are your friends
I used to love studying in the Geography Information Centre (GIC). With its carpeted floors and laid-back atmosphere, I could always walk in and find at least a handful of my friends. But times changed, people left, new students arrived.
It’s strange to walk into a previously familiar space only to feel like an outsider. But you were once a first year too, and you might remember befriending people who were about to graduate. It can feel odd being in their shoes now.
Joining clubs is a great two-for-one in your final year. It’s an opportunity to meet new people and make friends, but can also fill some of your spare time, especially if you’re a part-time student completing your few remaining credits before graduation. This is why I joined The Tribune. Trying out different activities can also be a way to find a new purpose to your degree. After three years, you might find school to be bleak, and academic burnout is a real thing. Finding joy in your spare time, even if it’s just once a week for a few hours, can brighten the mental spaces that senioritis shades over.
Take the courses you want
This is your last year at McGill, and by now half of it has gone by. At this point, feeling apathetic toward your studies can take the pleasure out of school. If you have a flexible program with a broad list of complementary courses, or if you just have a lot of electives left, now is the time to make the most of it. The beauty of school lies in its ability to allow you explore your deepest interests, or perhaps even discover new ones.
Take that class on your niche interest, or the one you’ve been eyeing since your first year. Enjoy learning for the sake of learning, instead of simply fulfilling your credit requirement and completing your degree. It’s your last semester, why not make the most of it?
You don’t have to apply to grad school
This is especially necessary to hear if you have friends who finished their degrees and immediately went on to pursue the graduate programs of their dreams. Comparing yourself to them, even unconsciously, might make you feel like you’re behind—I know that I felt this way. Applying to grad school well in advance might be a good idea if you know exactly what you want with conviction in your heart, but putting together applications can be stressful enough without the additional weight of the future’s uncertainty. Grad schools aren’t going anywhere, and the program you’ve been considering with vague interest out of a need to fill the void of an academically free life will still be there in a year.
Gap years are a refreshing opportunity to figure yourself out. Maybe you want to flesh out your interests, or maybe you just want to take a much-deserved break from academia. Both options are valid! This is your year; do whatever your heart desires. Find a job in your field of study, or try out something entirely different. Travel. The world is your oyster, and it’s time to break it open and find your pearl.
