XXIV. Senioritis - Student Recommended, Alumni Approved -

Full-fledged senior since May, I was completely prepared to study hard this semester.

College thus far has only been all kinds of intense intellectual madness.

My collective college experience has been a completely different one from the rest of my peers. As a result, I was sure that I would not experience senioritis just as all of my self-diagnosing alumni friends had.

I knew that I was more than ready for this year to come and go.

I did not have my 18-year old made “College (more like "Harvard”) Wall", but I did have ONE Google-imaged print-out, tacked to my wall aka the goal: the one school where I know I want to continue my studies after undergrad.

You know this scenario. There is that one school that you go from being enamored with to completely obsessing over- that school that you and, (for this particular program at least), 1000 other people are applying to. Thanks to the mystique of prestige, all of us have 0 - 1% chance of getting admitted into said program, said school, and our goal.

Also, this would be the first semester I have truly desired to take every course I was now enrolled in, regardless of the workload or the professors’ ugly reviews.

Yo, yo, yo -

I would take the hits…so to speak.

That is to say, I would read the voluminous course packs word-for-word - no backing out.

For I am the almighty senior.

I have endured the wrath of switching majors, fulfilling requirements, and having to constantly hear,as well as tolerate, people mixing up my hard-knock-life/anxiety-attack-ridden/at-last-deserved Ivy League status with that of a state school….since December 15, 2008 - the first and last day I would celebrate me having anything to do with Penn.

Actual conversation:

“My friend’s daughter went there. She hated it. She said there are only mountains there. It’s really far from NYC.”

           There are no mountains there…. I visited last week, and it’s not that far.

“Pittsburgh is pretty far out. It’s near the beginning of the Midwest.”

          But it’s in Philadelphia.

“OH! You’re not going to Penn State. You’re going to UPenn!”

At least this person knew the difference…

This has to have disturbed you as well, my fellow UPenn-ers.

(If by some chance the mix-up or the lack of knowledge about Upenn didn’t affect you, peace-loving person that you are, well jolly good for you…. I’ll make sure not to say the word “hate” around you either.)

I took this hit and I would continue to take the hits.

I would take the knock-the-wind out of you blows to my stomach that the syllabi relentlessly threw at me.

I wouldn’t mind remedying the eyesore caused by those carelessly scanned documents uploaded onto BlackBoard either.

Oh yes, I, we all - took the hits.

But alas - how could I forget that I don’t even take well to some stranger, (who is not a child), staring at me for over 15 seconds… are you criticizing me with that stare? What are you looking at homie?

How could I possibly take to physical blows being inflicted on me?

No freaken way -

And with this defiant epiphany, I knew that I had come down with senioritis.

Every waking second, I think about the upcoming month of May.

In May, I’ll be wearing a boho-chic Free People dress and pearl studs. My shoulders wil be effortlessly draped with straightened hair, some of which will be under the cap that is perched on my head. I’ll have a gown draped over one arm and glance over my shoulder in an attempt to see my mom whose voice I hear in the background saying, “Put on your gown! We’re taking pictures now…”

As a result, my syllabi is not nearly as neon as it should be.

I haven’t been ritualistically highlighting after completing, because I haven’t been punctually completing the readings; the same readings that I was so ready to get beaten up by.

No wonder senioritis is student-recommended and alumni-approved.This daydreaming is addictive as it displaces you into a joyous prophetic microcosm…

It’s a good thing all of my unfinished work cancels out this euphoria by giving me ever more prevalent and stress-induced headaches.         :)

                       Was that sarcasm just now?

Take that remark for what you will -