Editor’s Note: Seniors are not alone in the second semester mentality

By Jack Allen
Editor-in-Chief

I feel like I can finally take a breath for the first time in a year and a half.

I realized that my life as a junior and first-semester senior was what my mom calls a “whirling dervish” as I tried to balance an uncontrollably busy and hectic lifestyle where all I ever thought about was, “there’s something I’m missing, and there’s something else I have to do.”

Now my life is simple. I wake up. Kinda sit there in bed. Approach the fridge. Clean my room. Eat a lot. And then do whatever my heart desires. In other words, I only think about what is directly in front of me, what’s in the moment, and it’s awesome.

But it’s not all Netflix and Sloopy’s delivery for me. Like every aspect of life, there is always a new issue. Rather than college admissions or grades, I now must be considerate of the sentimental mother that struggles with the idea of her son or daughter “leaving her behind.” For all you helicopter moms out there, the chopper will have to land one day.

Like most parents, my mom likes to nudge. But now the stress is gone, and she has no one to nudge. Herein lies the problem. Now that I will be out of the house, my mom will be an empty nester. Because of this, I now receive texts with emojis in Calculus class from my mother saying, “Jack, I’m bored; what are you doing?” My mom is also contemplating getting dogs and says to me regularly, “Jack, what should I be when I grow up?” or “I think I’ll become an actor.” She also frequently speaks of the “gap year” that she plans on taking when I leave, to which I simply smile and wave.

I do my best to keep my mother from becoming teary-eyed over the fact that I am approaching a collegiate life, but sometimes she’s just gotta let it out. And that’s completely okay. Like all moms, and especially considering everything she has done for me, she has more than earned that right.

All things considered, this time is scary, exciting, stressful and liberating all at once. Most of my friends would say that I’ve been a mamma’s boy my whole life, and they are right. So mom, I’ll soon join you in that teary-eyed moment.