When I first came to Shippensburg University, I did not know what to expect.

I attended a few orientation events and then spent the rest of my time in my new room, which I later learned I would have to share with two people.

I did not know it then, but senioritis was slowly creeping up on me.

I had to wait a year to find out what senioritis really meant.
Then I had to wait two more years to discover that I would had senioritis most of the time I had been in Shippensburg.

I came to college because I wanted to improve myself.

Getting a job has always been pretty low on my list of priorities.
It is something I can do without much difficulty.

As a result, I evaluate classes in terms of how they help me grow as an individual.
With a major of psychology, I did not find a lot of personal growth.

The entire department is structured around preparing students for post-graduate work.

There might have been a time when I wanted to go to graduate school. However, that time passed as I discovered how much I disliked reducing human behaviors to numbers, a practice I found quite often in psychology.

There reached a point at which I just did not care about my classes or my grades anymore.
To me, doing well in class felt like just going through the motions.

To some extent, college classes are little more than compliance evaluations.
Each student has to satisfy the instructor’s requirements.

But what happens when the instructor is not necessarily a “good” one?

Let us face it -— not every instructor will be leaving a lasting impression on a student’s life.
Some professors are better left forgotten.

Some instructors even abuse their tenure, doing things they would never get away with otherwise.
The result is apathy.

Students like me often lose interest in studying for tests.
Everyone who has been through a four-year undergrad program has had at least one instructor who assigns tests people just cannot pass.

What is the point of doing your best in a class in which you cannot succeed no matter what you do?
By the time senior year rolls around, many students already have their career in mind.
They are ready to go out and start making some money.

Staying in a university — especially one which faces drastic budget might not make sense anymore.
It certainly does not make sense to me.

So, I have senioritis.
Instead of doing my best in all of my classes, I have dropped most of them.
I now spend my time as I please, seeking future opportunities or writing short stories on my own time.

The stress of group projects, writing papers and studying for tests is behind me — or least for this semester.

For the first time in a while, I am getting a lot of sleep every night.

I do not feel stressed out doing everything at the last minute because I am working with people whose schedule does not coincide with mine.

I do not have to spend hours every day reading textbooks that bore me to tears.
This is my ideal college life.

I am trying my best to improve myself outside of regimented and restrictive programs.
I find my own way.

This, to me, is what college should be about.

Share