At the end of each and every school year, students may begin to feel sadness, anxiety or even emotional exhaustion. This could be due to the end of the year blues. This occurs at the end of the fourth quarter, as students prepare to depart from the school for the summer months. Whether they come back next year, or move on to the bigger things in life, this is common for students to experience.

Students may begin to have these feelings for a couple of different reasons. They may have difficulty saying goodbye to their teachers and especially their friends. They may be under extreme stress for their final projects, exams and any work that has accumulated throughout the course of the year.

While difficulties saying goodbyes and academic stress may be the case for some students, the broader reasoning for these feelings is the fear of change and loss of routine. Some do not know where to start after leaving high school forever, or even leaving for a few months for summer. With all of these different reasons promoting the end of the year blues, it has a real effect on students. This can cause some to lose all interest in their schoolwork. The loss of work ethic can cause students’ final grades to plummet during the fourth quarter, as motivation is sparse, and most begin to not care anymore.

“The year is coming to an end and most people give up because they have either already gotten into college, or are just checked out. My personal motivation with schoolwork has stayed constant,” Payton Bickerstaff (12) said. “The main reason is because the finals that I have for college courses are coming up and the pressure of passing the class in order to not have to take it in college.”

While some students have taken the harder route to finish the year off strong, that is not always the case with some students. Students who tend to slack off due to these strong feelings of emotion towards the end of the year can be seriously affected emotionally and mentally. There are different signs that can show when a student is being affected by the end of the year blues. The main signs can include lack of motivation, sleep problems and academic performance dropping.

“Knowing that I am a senior next year makes me filled with disbelief and it feels like just yesterday I was introduced to high school,” Alyssa Bearer (11) said. “Also knowing that the school is coming to an end makes my motivation plummet, but I am looking forward to next year and all that it has to offer.”

While the end of the year blues may seem like they may never go away, there is always hope. In fact, there are also ways to help pass this sense of emotions quicker. Encouraging conversations with other friends help hide this sense of loneliness and stress and can help foster a better sense of self. While the end of the school year may seem like it is extremely hard, it is always important to remember everything that was accomplished in order to get to that point.