By Maria Corcoran
At this point in the school year, most seniors have submitted their college applications and are waiting for admissions decisions. In this twilight zone, where class rank and GPA have been finalized as of the end of the first semester, and they are experiencing the effects of senioritis, many are reflecting on their past 3.5 years of high school.
When asked to compare their level of happiness upon entering high school to now, the majority of seniors interviewed reported a decrease.
“There’s different types of happinesses that have increased and decreased,” according to Sharah Ahmed. “I was so happy to learn when school started [you know]. I wanted to be ‘big brain’. But then that happiness decreases when you start to figure out how school isn’t about learning, rather, it turned more into a competition. I don’t wanna compete when it comes to learning.”
Abaigeal Harding, another senior, put this disillusionment into more depressing terms, stating, “Pressure, work, grades, homework, expectations, and seven hour school days have caused such deterioration and burnout during an already overwhelming time in life, leaving such little hope and genuine happiness that it’s almost a shock that we can continue—and yet we do.”
Others reported a pervasive feeling of monotony which left them feeling less happy now than when they entered. According to Maiya Martin, “[high school] is more of a simulation to me where you just repeat the same things until you complete the ‘level’ whether that be graduating or until the weekend or upcoming break arrives.”
Stuti Desai feels similarly: “It’s like the same thing over and over again which is decreasing my happiness.”
While the majority of responses followed a similar theme, a few outliers actually reported an increase in happiness.
Naysa Abraham shared that she entered high school in a bad place but was able to overcome it during her time at RHHS, “Over the years my teachers and friends became a community of sorts and it helped me out of that dump.”
Maddie Dillon also credited an increase in happiness to her community: “I have stronger bonds with my friends and teachers now than I did freshman year.”
The negative body of responses may be passed off as a result of teenage angst, seasonal depression, or senioritis,—but might it also be a problem with our school system? If the positive responses hold any hope, it’s that we should place more emphasis on relationships and experiences rather than academic excellence.