Senior Slide? This senior has officially slid. I’m writing this article about three weeks past the deadline, to give you a nice image of where I’m at in life.

On the first day of Freshman year, I heard two seniors talking in the hallway. “I’m not gonna do sh*t” this year,” one of them said. “Same,” said the other.

For some reason, this stuck with me all through high school. This little snippet of a conversation seemed to define three years of my life. I started to see school like a race, with getting into college as the final finish line. Once I got there, I thought, I could finally relax.

But now that I’m into college, I still can’t relax.

On the first day of third quarter, I received three lectures from teachers about how they won’t tolerate “second semester seniors.” There are still tests and projects- and I don’t even want to mention the daunting senior paper. We’re not done, as the school has taken to reminding us.

Growing up in Brookline, college has been at the forefront of my mind since middle school. Report cards were anxiety-inducing, even in sixth grade. One time, I got a B in health and fitness, and cried to my mom that now I would never have a future. Obviously, I was a little crazy. But this mindset follows you in Brookline, where an Ivy seems like the only acceptable destination in a life. Teachers, parents and even other students convinced me that college was all that mattered- and now that I’ve gotten in, it’s a little hard to let go of that mindset.

As of the moment where I am writing this, I have spent roughly 2,112 days in school. In this time I have learned to count, read, write and talk during class without getting caught. I have done (probably) millions of homework assignments and taken (probably) thousands of tests.

I’m tired. And I earned being tired.

I’m not saying I’ll never do another piece of homework or study for a test again (although I am sorely tempted). I’m just asking for a little understanding. We’re not just lazy; we’re not just “teenagers.” We’re just tired.