Senior Year at William and Mary – This Really Isn’t Time for Senioritis!

I have something in common with the readers of this blog. I too am in my senior year. At the beginning of my final year at W&M, I was reminiscing upon my senior year in high school. After I finished my college applications, I sat back and waited until graduation. We’ve all heard of it; senioritis is known to creep up at the most undesirable of times and completely sidetrack you. It happened to me right before Advanced Placement exams. As soon as I decided where I was going to school, I completely zoned out.

So, I sort of figured I would have a similar experience during my senior year here. I was looking forward to chilling out with friends, being more involved with my clubs/ student organizations, and having my post-graduation plans fall into place. I didn’t know how wrong I could be….. Between finishing up major requirements for both of my majors (International Relations and Economics), trying to figure out what I will do after I graduate (it’s either going to be working for a major IR think tank in DC or spending a year in Mongolia), working on my honors’ thesis, and spending time with my friends during our last year together, I have found myself with precious few moments to spare. Usually, I put those moments towards sleep. I almost always look back upon my days and wonder why my dreams of senior year were so wrong. But, last night, it finally hit me: the reason I haven’t been able to sit back and watch my senior year fly by is that I love being busy. I choose to fit 50 hours worth of work into a 24 hour day. Whether it’s attending another club meeting or talking with our amazing on-campus fellowship advisor about how exactly to get me to Mongolia, the busy-ness of life is what keeps me going. And although I am eager to begin my “real world” experiences, I know I will miss the always busy schedule of campus life and needing five (yes, five) to-do lists to manage everything. After all, I can enjoy sleeping after I graduate. Will I ever again have a chance to talk on the phone with a friend about our economics homework while emailing my dad on the way to yet another club meeting? Probably not.

So the next time you fret about all you have to do or realize just how busy you are, ask yourself: “Could I really handle it if I wasn’t so busy?”

– Salil Singhal ’11