Being an upperclassman feels like constant responsibilities being thrown onto you. Suddenly, you’re being bombarded with emotions and a workload that you feel like you cannot handle. “It’s more busy,” said senior Deanah Brown. “I feel like there’s more stuff to do. You get really busy, especially when it comes to meeting counselors about colleges.” Some students felt more pressure compared to their freshman and sophomore years. “Yeah, it kinda does because I feel more pressured. I only have two years to choose if I want to go to college or what college I want to go to,” said junior Sirgie Chirinos.

Typically, when you become an upperclassman, you might have specific things about your senior year that you are looking forward to, but there is also a chance that you will have many worries, too. “I’m looking forward to communicating more,” said Sirgie Chirinos, “because my career path is engineering, and you really have to communicate for your work.”

The shift from an underclassman to an upperclassman is not something that everybody is prepared for, you might have things you wish to work on before you are a senior. “I’m looking forward to my senior year, but I’m worried about this year, passing my writing SOL, and graduating on time without being left behind,” said junior Diana Rivas. But despite the constant nagging of assignments and assessments, there are still many things you could do to keep yourself motivated.

Motivation is a key detail in any type of work, whether you are an underclassman beginning your first year of high school or an upperclassman finishing off your last year of high school. Everyone needs motivation in order to succeed in their assignments, assessments, dreams, and goals.

A few juniors were asked about what keeps them motivated, and each response turned out to be different. Diana Rivas said, “Something that helps me stay motivated is looking into the future and seeing what I’m doing to accomplish the hardest part of a goal I want, then I focus on achieving the rest of my goals later.” Another junior, Chris Gonzalez Calderas, said, “Going outside and breathing air or spending time with the people I love most is what keeps me motivated.”

No matter how hard things may get, it is important to never give up. School itself is not going to be easy for everyone because everybody has different strengths and weaknesses, which is also why everyone has different things that keep them going. Sirgie Chirinos said, “I visualize me achieving my goal and what I want to be in life. My desire to make my family proud and think about everything I have gone through because it’s not worth giving up.” What is most important is that you make sure you get what you need done, no matter what.

When you shift to your senior year, that is when you really have to think about your future because you will be graduating in months, but not every senior is sure what they want to do. There are many options: you could go to college, maybe get a job, or maybe you don’t go to college and you choose to stay home with your family. There is no right or wrong answer. “I want to go to NOVA and transfer to a four-year university for education,” said senior Karianne Rodriguez, who plans to be a teacher, and another senior, Jazlynn Castro, said, “Working, working a lot so I can save money for a nice camera.” She plans to be a photographer.

Graduation is approaching quickly, and many seniors aren’t ready to graduate yet. Despite all the fun activities they participate in like senior sunrise and prom, they still have that lurking feeling of anticipation. Some might not want to leave because they don’t feel prepared. “I’m not gonna say I’m ready to graduate because it doesn’t feel like it. I don’t think anyone is ever ready to graduate,” said senior Deanah Brown.

But others, “Not at all, honestly, cause that’s like the end. Honestly, mainly it’s all about my friends because I’m not gonna be with them like in the past years,” said Karianne Rodriguez, might not be ready to leave because they will miss the friends they met throughout the years.

Senior year will bring out a lot of emotions from within you because you are transferring from childhood to adulthood, and while there are some people who are already used to arranging their emotions, there are others who aren’t. “It makes you feel happy and sad. You’re happy because you’re graduating and it’s a big milestone, and it’s exciting to graduate with your friends and do senior outings with them, but it’s also sad because you’re going to leave behind your teachers and underclassmen friends,” said Deanah Brown. Seniors often get that bittersweet feeling of graduation, and it’s okay to feel like that, but the bird will have to fly out of the nest eventually.