How intense are classes or exams now compared to before?
School definitely gets a lot harder as you progress through each grade. However, 12th grade definitely brings you a lot more freedom and challenges. We can choose special classes ranging from Family and Consumer Sciences, JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps), to Entrepreneurship, these options are different from previous grades. But you have to be responsible for every class you choose because every class requires effort and time, meaning easy homework does not exist.
What do you normally do in your free time now? Are there any specific changes compared to before?
I am a big fan of Youtube, I watch all sorts of things. Throughout the years I realized I lack general knowledge and information on global issues, so I started watching videos that talk about news and any content that I find interest in. I still spend about the same amount of time procrastinating. I would not say it is a bad thing because you do feel happy while doing it. However, do try to decrease the amount of time you procrastinate on something because you will find a hard time to balance your sleep, work, and fun.
What is the most challenging task as a senior?
For me, the most challenging task is college applications. I never experienced anything like this before. You have to write tons of essays in a short span of time, and anxiety crashes in when you wait for the results. We spent a lot of time taking the standardized tests but we might just get tons rejection messages from the university in the end if we don’t get our application right. Some classmates told me Senior Project is the most challenging; however, seniors do receive all the requirements and deadlines at the beginning of the year meaning: stop procrastinating and it will not become a burden.
What is the worst thing about being a senior?
I think the worst thing about being a senior is sleep deprivation and the amount of work we need to finish. As mentioned above, every work requires effort which would eat away our sleeping time. In our grade, people with the best grades sleep around three to five hours daily. Even when we are all sleep deprived zombies, peer pressure still exists. Yes, peer pressure may be positive sometimes but it is also extremely stressful. The existence of peer pressure certainly depends between the peers you are with.
What are some things you can do when you are having difficulty learning something?
Looking for help is hard but there are a few ways to do it: You can ask your best friends or ask the Internet for help on study materials or videos. For deeper understanding, you can approach your teacher individually. In CSP (Community Service Project), our group, “DIS Academy“, is working on a website that provides study help and resources. Feel free to check it out when we announce its release!
What current goals do you have for your last year of high school?
The current goals I have is just to keep my grades up, stay alive, have a balanced schedule, and get into college. Grades are definitely hard to keep up. We sacrifice a lot of other things for grades, since we are preparing ourselves for the future as well. We lose time with our friends and family, and some even break connections. Is it worth it? I honestly do not know. But, I just try to anticipate graduation and going to college. I try to not have regrets and have fun in the remaining time I have left of high school.
Any thoughts or feelings in your last year of high school?
Currently, I am not so happy in senior year. I think the workload is reasonable, but the workload overwhelmed everyone to the point that friends do not hang out anymore. This may not happen to everyone, but most of my friends think getting into a university is the utmost important priority right now. I hope the situation gets better as time goes on. I definitely spend a lot of time reviewing the memories from high school and the times before, but I believe it is important to improve yourself with the good memories in mind. Remember that things may be bad, but they are not always bad.
