My previous years at school were a struggle, but nothing compared to the daily grind of the first semester of senior year. College applications piled up, and classes were somehow becoming more challenging, but worst of all, maintaining my motivation to do my work for the final push of my high school career was next to impossible.

However, I persevered and found myself strongly finishing the first semester and earning acceptance into college.

I am currently in the midst of being a second semester senior, and I couldn’t be more relaxed. But I constantly wonder every day, How can I keep my foot off of the gas pedal for an entire semester and still excel in my classes? Is that even possible?

Yes, it is possible.

During the first semester, a typical day for me would start off at approximately 6:00 a.m. stressing over my homework. But in second semester, one day, I was up at 7:55 a.m., and I felt terrific. The morning was still bright and young.

While I was on my way to school, I realized I forgot to bring my essay for one of my classes, but the second semester magical powers kicked in early. I received a Google Classroom update from the teacher saying that he was pushing back the deadline by one week.

I was ecstatic, since I now had so much more time to improve my writing. Maybe I could have actually added a thesis statement or even a body paragraph to my essay, but why bother if I thought it was good enough? I chose the path of least resistance and left the essay as it was.

The day carried on smoothly, but I completely disregarded my test for third period. Luckily, I have my lunch period before the test, so I could have used that time to prepare since I hadn’t even paid attention to the course material. Instead, I used this time to study in a unique fashion: achieving my high score in Pac-Man.

Unfortunately, that test didn’t go according to plan, and I needed something to cheer me up before fourth period. Of course, the second semester magical powers kicked in again, right on time. My teacher brought fresh Krispy Kreme donuts to class. I capitalized on this opportunity and scarfed down seven donuts. The stress of my failing test grade from the previous period seemed to fade with each donut I ate.

The school day ended, and I found myself at the gym trying to burn off the calories from my donuts. I’ve run a half marathon before, and I’m a competitive tennis player; so, I was definitely capable of burning off the calories I needed to lose. Sadly, my second semester laziness took over and prevented me from pushing myself to get a solid workout.

I then went home, questioning whether it was worth it to start on my research project that was due the next day or complete the entire thing the next day in school. I decided to follow the second semester senior motto: if today isn’t the due date, then today isn’t the do date.

After a long day, I flopped down on my couch and slowly drifted into sleep. I couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow had in store. Or maybe I could. After all, I am a second semester senior.