Actually, I do have a life

Seniors plan their second semesters around a new school-home life balance

Suhani Mahajan, Staff Writer

“Senioritis,” the chronic condition which strikes seniors after they finish their college applications, rendering them “freer” and “less-motivated” as compared to the rest of their high school career, affects Northview students each year. But sometimes, what looks like senioritis may just be a new outlook on life.

In the midst of the pandemic last school year, now-seniors Nima Surani, Elizabeth Ziabtchenko, and Simran Damidi recognized a significant imbalance in their lives. Schoolwork and studying had left them little to no time for anything else. So they started placing less importance on their rigorous school schedules as they expanded the uses of their time. To them, they do not have Senioritis. Instead, they are discovering a helpful apathy towards school stressors. 

“I think I just finally learned how to not stress about things. If something didn't happen or I got a bad grade, who cares?” Ziabtchenko said. “I'm not really defined by that anymore. I have my other skill sets, and I learned how to prioritize things so that I could actually do things outside of school.”

During the second semester of their junior year, with the extra time an all-remote education afforded them, Surani, Ziabtchenko, and Damidi planned their lives outside school-related activities. They held movie dates in their cars, stayed up to watch meteor showers, went ice-skating, and even planned a summer trip to Chicago.

“For me, the two of them are like my sisters—the sisters I never had. I think 2020 was when we got really close and emotionally attached. We put an effort to do that as well—to make time and see each other once in a while,” Surani said. 

A shift in mentality led to this shift in their actions, Surani and Ziabtchenko said. They recall how they each slowly realized that the imbalances in their lives had grown into mundane - toxic even - lifestyles. 

“I definitely used to stress a lot more. The way my school life worked was that I woke up, I went to school, I came home, I ate a snack, and then until 9 p.m., I did homework,” Surani said. “And, that was on normal days, so if there was a test, I usually studied longer.”

As the three stepped away from the negative and draining extreme, they received mostly positive feedback from fellow seniors who sympathized with them and shared similar feelings of burnout. However, amongst underclassmen, they experienced a disconnect.

“Nima and I have experienced this because we have underclassmen in our AP Biology class who just don't understand the mentality that we have sometimes when we're approaching our schoolwork,” Ziabtchenko said. “I think it’s because they still are in that mindset of ‘We're competing for our grades. We’re competing for college.’ So, they’ll go ‘Oh my God, you didn't do that assignment? You did something else that night?’ and I’ll go ‘Yeah, because it's not the most important thing. Sometimes, getting an extra hour of sleep is more important to me than anything else.’”

But, an understanding and practice of balance have led to a new appreciation of self for Surani especially. 

“If you're not doing well, but you do as much as you can, you think it's not reflecting all your hard work. I think that's really overwhelming for students,” Surani said. “But, sometimes, you just have to realize that grades don’t define you.“

With this positive mindset, the trio looks forward to and has already begun planning an eventful second semester of senior year outside the classroom. During first semester, they celebrated each of their 18th birthdays by going to concerts and throwing parties. This semester, their biggest plans include their celebration for prom as well as this summer’s vacation.

“We have a whole bucket list,” Damidi said. “I’m the planner and right now I think we’re just going to hang out as much as we can - with our snacks, of course. ”

Come what may, Surani, Ziabtchenko, and Damidi intend to live according to the lessons they have learned over the past two years. To them, nothing is worth sacrificing the harmony in the new balance they found.

“I predict balance for myself because I kind of know what that feels like now,” Ziabtchenko said. “Now that I know that feeling, I’m thinking ‘Okay, how do I replicate it but in a college setting?’”