Spring semester is in full swing, which means you’ve probably reduced binge drinking from 7 nights a week to 4, paid a few trips to the library, and gotten caught up in school, recruitment, and other craziness. If you’re a senior, welcome to what is simultaneously the best and worst thing that will ever happen to you: the end of college. The last semester of college is a downward spiral of emotions but so amazing at the same time…the definition of bittersweet. It’s like everyone in your class shares an unspoken agreement to make this the craziest five months ever and create memories that will last long after you leave this town and each other. Here are a few tricks of the trade (from someone who was AWESOME at college) to help you through your last semester. You’re welcome.
Do the bare minimum
I really hope you were smart enough to get your hard classes out of the way, and load up with full schedules in previous semesters so that you can breeze through these last few months. Getting good-enough grades while doing the bare minimum is an art form and you should consider yourself Picasso. If you’re a second semester senior and you attend more than three classes per week, you did something wrong. If any of your classes start before noon, you also did something wrong. Don’t worry, there will be a junior from your sorority in all of your classes to take notes so you can always (really…always) skip them.
Have a plan
While being largely unproductive is encouraged, part of your “bare minimum” should include hatching a post-grad plan. Send out resumes, apply for grad schools, or latch on to the last guy you MO’d who was pre-law or pre-med. Figure SOMETHING out, because when you’re unpacking your shit back at your parents’ house and realize that you have no job, no boyfriend and that your old life is nothing but a memory, you’ll end up sobbing into your piles of clothes while playing Vitamin C’s “Graduation” on repeat and mass-texting your sisters about your upcoming suicide. I’m guessing. I don’t know from experience.
Do Everything
I realize this is the exact opposite of a previously stated rule, but I’m not talking about actual work. Duh. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “do it for the story,” this is what I mean. Do the things you’ve thought about doing all of these years because time is running out. Swim in the campus fountain and run from the cops after. Hook up with the boy you’ve always had a crush on, but never wanted to make it awkward (because who cares? You’ll never see him again after this semester). Go on bar crawls and crazy scavenger hunts. Have sex on the green (or in the library stacks, or on the roof of your apartment, or with someone wildly inappropriate). Go on a spontaneous road trip. Tailgate every single football game. Dage EVERY Saturday that the sun is out. Experience mortifying walks of shame. Skip class on the warm days of spring to get drunk on the patio of your favorite bar. Buy every extra PR item your sorority offers you. Just do everything. “Whatever, I’m graduating” should be your mantra. Treat each day like a special occasion and each night like a celebration and when it’s all over you’ll be able to say you made the most of your time here.
Keep Your Friends Close
Everyone knows that hometown (or any other types of) friends can never compare to your sisters and college friends. Maybe it’s because you do everything together, from studying to partying to planning events to going on double dates to sitting around and doing absolutely nothing, but you share every aspect of your lives with these people, and soon, you won’t be. Whether you’re moving back home or to a new city, the odds are that not everyone is coming with you. The harsh reality is that you will never see a lot of these people again. The boy who tells funny jokes and is a great cuddler but you only have lukewarm feelings towards? You’ll be surprised at how much you actually miss being his little spoon. You’ll be amazed at how much you miss having familiar faces around, even people who are just acquaintances from your classes or regulars at your favorite bar. So appreciate the people you know now and the fact that they won’t be in your life forever, as much as we’d like to think otherwise. Look around and take a good hard look about what each person has taught you about life and about yourself. We may have learned a lot in the classroom these past few years, but what we take away from our relationships are the real lessons.
So if you’re starting your last-ever semester keep these tips in mind. This is going to be a wild ride, and although your life will never be this carefree again, hopefully you can walk at graduation with no regrets (well…maybe a few) knowing that college was everything you wanted it to be and more. With that said, if you’re a second semester senior, for the love of God, get back to drinking and remember this semester more than EVER that you only live once.
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