4 Struggles Of Every College Senior Currently Facing Their Last Year As An Undergrad

For many people, senior year is a highly anticipated time because it is the end of an era that also brings many perks.

As I sit in the student union and write this article, which just so happens to be one of my favorite places on campus, I realize how much has happened since I arrived as a freshman three short years ago.

Seeing as we are a month into the semester, I have started to buckle down and realize it's time to get my priorities straight.

You bet your ass I'm still taking advantage of being 21, but it is and will continue to be a goal of mine all year to manage my time efficiently.

If your semester is going anything like mine, you are dealing with these dilemmas:

1. Applying for jobs

Not only am I scrambling around trying to do everything possible to bring up my GPA, but I'm also taking 18 credits and applying for jobs left and right.

While trying to take in the lessons my classes are teaching me and apply them to real-life scenarios, I realize that my major qualifies me for many job positions. In the job search, I have discovered that I would be happy traveling the world as a photographer or teaching.

Going to a big school (thanks, Indiana) has all of the resources one needs to find and pursue a job, which has been extremely resourceful. My struggle has simply been picking a job in which I can move my way up, enjoy the work I do, support myself and move to a new location.

My solution: apply to everything in the three major cities to which I want to move.

2. Being 21

I am a fresh 21-year-old and loving $2 Tuesdays each week. This is a dangerous lifestyle, my friends. Bloomington has a plethora of bars to choose from, and every single night of the week (I kid you not), there is a place that has a deal and a person who is itching to get rid of the stress that day has brought.

While this is all fun and games, it is not so fun on Wednesday morning when I have a six-hour day of class ahead of me. After a few weeks, I'd say I am starting to get the hang of it.

Finding a good balance between class, the job search, going out and exercising is a difficult task but an enjoyable one. Keep an agenda book with all your important dates and times; drink a cup of joe and keep going strong.

3. So school is coming to an end...

For the majority of college seniors, this is the last year we will ever be a student. Since we were innocent little kindergartners, all we have ever known is school. For nine months out of the year for the past 16 years, we have been active students pursuing an education.

This coming fall will be the first time there is no class or homework to tend to. When you put it that way, I can't wait to graduate! For a handful of people, they will be continuing on to graduate school. Props to these people because they have an idea of which direction they want their career to go!

Enjoy your last months of endless papers and tests because, soon, it will all be over.

4. To move back home or start over?

I guess this question depends on what your job situation is. However, there are a ton of job opportunities in up-and-coming cities (and already riveting ones) seeking new employees.

I think this is a blessing, and a reason to pick up your belongings and move somewhere new. Being an out-of-state student, I get a lot of comments like, "If you go so far away to school, you must not like home."

No, that is not the case at all. I love home more than I know how to show it, but I chose to go to school in the Midwest because I wanted to take advantage of living in another part of the country.

Just like with college, I want to take a chance and move to a new city with new doors and opportunities for my future. The struggle with moving somewhere new is, how do you fund it?

I have a nice chunk of change saved up but not enough to rent an apartment, pay the utility bills, plus car insurance, plus furniture and whatever else comes along with moving to a new city. I encourage you to apply for jobs in an unfamiliar destination and see what happens! Something is bound to work out.

I am extremely ambivalent to see what this year has in store for college seniors. Enjoy every last minute of your time as a student and take advantage of all the things it are no longer acceptable to do when you graduate.

Photo Courtesy: We Heart It