Who Said Senior Year Was Easy?

Krystal Lai

Staff Writer

“Hoo-Ha! You wish you were a senior!” But sometimes, you really don’t. With each year’s seniors over-glorifying how “chill,” relaxed, and fun senior year is, we’ve all longed for the day to finally become a senior since the start of freshman year. Sadly, our current experience does not reflect what we have heard.

Being a senior is not easy. Compared to junior year, senior year was supposed to be laid back. But no; the amount of work we receive is equal to junior year, or even more. On top of that, first semester is also college application season, and lots of time is spent on filling out applications. It seems to be simply inputting information, but each student is trying their best to produce the best essays, editing and changing it over and over again, hoping that the college of their dreams would admit them. It may be said that we overload ourselves with more than we are able to handle, but I would rather see this as pushing our limits to the max, trying to display our best ability.

As a “reward” for all the stress, the senior field trip and Grad Nite are enjoyments for seniors after “surviving” four years of high school. But sadly, due to the cost of it, not everyone can afford to go. The senior field trip was previously held on September 11, 2014 at Waterworld; it costed $70 to go, and we only stayed there for around three hours. There was barely any chance to go on rides as there were a number of other schools there as well, which resulted in long lines. The upcoming Grad Nite at Disneyland, which is at the end of the year, costs $155 total. A lot of money has already been used on college applications, ranging from $55-$90 per school. All these expenditures wound up emptying the wallets of our parents.

In addition to these field trips, seniors often purchase senior portraits in remembrance of their last year in high school. The prices are ridiculously high; eight wallets cost $50. Many would buy some and print the rest at stores like Target and Walmart, but the quality is much worse and less desirable. On top of that, in order to prepare for graduation day, a cap and gown is essential to have. Everything costs money, and senior expenses probably exceed expenses for the past three years all together.

In short, senior year is a sequel of junior year – filled with expectations, but typically a let down due to false advertising. Until second semester, everything that we do still matters. Reminder to current juniors: Don’t think that it’s okay to start slacking off. Don’t think you’re going to have enough time if you procrastinate. Trust me, senior year is fun, but it comes with a cost, both mentally and financially.