Millbrook High School Student Newspaper

Editorial - A Small Dose of Panic

By Julia Ouimet

For seniors in Millbrook High School and around the country, it’s crunch time. Most applications are due in January, and by now we’re supposed to have asked for recommendations, written our essays, and thoroughly researched which colleges will broaden our intellectual perspectives. Thirteen years worth of academic achievement must be condensed, sealed up an a few yellow envelopes, and mailed off to be reviewed by people who know nothing about us.
There are two kinds of high school seniors in the world. The first kind takes things one at a time, has a plan, and isn’t phased by minor difficulties that crop up along the way. The other kind-the kind I can relate to-is so stressed out by the big picture that they forget to make a plan, and ends up scrambling just to keep track of everything they have to do, let alone actually do it. If this is you, too, you probably thought you’d have all your essays written and all of your applications filled out by the time you got back to school in September. When that didn’t happen, you aimed to have everything done by Thanksgiving break. When that rolled around, and you concentrated more on eating pumpkin pie than writing that ever-important Common App essay, you figured you had a whole month to sit down, reflect on your life, and knock off a page or two on something deeply meaningful. Wait a minute, one month? That’s all the time you have left?
Procrastination is a delicate art. In order for it to have its full effect, equal parts of studiousness, laziness, and distraction must be mixed together and sprinkled with a small dose of panic. Maybe saving the college requiring three supplemental essays for last was not such a good idea, but there’s no excuse now; it’s do-or-die time. If your editorial for the school paper has to be rather brief because you actually do have three supplemental essays to write, then so be it. No matter what kind of senior you are, it’ll all get done in the end, one way or another.