By Elijah Miles

Many Delaware State University students are about to reach the end of their college journey. The closer to graduation they get, the more excited they become. Those with less credit hours on their student record, are both proud and envious of those that are on the last leg of their undergrad race.

Being a graduating senior can feel very good. You are at the top of the food chain, and can look back at your past semesters with feelings of accomplishment. All you have to do is keep up the good work that got you so close to the finish line. It is an enormous relief to know that all of the hard work you have done will not only be completed, but it would have given you the tools necessary to acquire the lifestyle you desire.

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As you advise younger students on how to succeed in college, it feels like you are in your own “coming of age” story. Knowing that you made fellow Hornet’s path to a fulfilling life easier, is heartwarming. Especially in my case, where there was no senior to show me the ropes as I was still getting my feet wet at this university. Paying my wisdom forward is one of my ways of being the change I want to see in the world. Letting others make the mistakes I’ve made, will not help me get ahead, so I help others avoid the same setbacks I had to overcome by giving them the correct tactics.

I cannot wait to graduate college. This has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember, and I would love to start working towards starting my career. However, all of this excitement for what comes after college, causes me to lose interest in what is occurring while I am still enrolled. Assignments all seem pointless, and attending class is classified as torture. This lack of motivation and desire to excel in class is the result of Senioritis.

In high school, I was also consumed by the attitude generated by Senioritis, there was no way I would do anything but the bare minimum. I wouldn’t participate in class, and homework would never get done unless the answers came from a peer’s brain rather than my own. Fortunately, high school was not challenging enough for me to need to buckle down in order to receive A’s and high B’s. Being a senior had no down side. My foot was already out of the door, and after my team’s basketball season came to an end, I did not have a heavy schedule to increase the difficulty of completing my tasks. Senioritis was my friend because it helped me relax and enjoy my last days attending grade school.

I asked a couple classmates whether senioritis has affected their performance in a negative way, and they expressed how senioritis makes being a student so bittersweet. They love how close they are to completing a milestone that will have prepared them to move on to the next stage in their lives. At the same time, they are tired of being so close, but not finished. Their anticipation of the great accomplishment sometimes cripples their ability to enjoy their last semester as an undergrad student. Still, receiving their degree will be a moment they will never forget, and the amount of work it is taking them to get to that day will have made them stronger and wiser to make the decisions that will determine their fate.

My last semester at Delaware State University has arrived. I made it this far by doing my best to build a foundation for a successful future and looking for multiple ways to make an impact on this campus. As graduation draws nearer, I find myself not doing my best. Grunts and groans slip from my mouth as my professors assign tasks for the class to do, and they are usually not completed until the last possible moment. Being a senior doesn’t sound as good as me being a college graduate would, but I will try to overcome this lull in productivity. My message to my fellow seniors, is to keep pushing yourself the classroom until you are able to walk across the stage on May 12th, 2018.