By Carter Sampson

Senior year can mean a lot of stress, especially at TPA. The combination of school, homework, college applications, sports, thesis, extracurriculars, and a million other things can get to your head pretty quickly.

Fortunately, the Class of 2018 has found a variety of ways to keep our heads above water. We asked several seniors about their coping mechanisms, so that underclassmen can both learn from and laugh at their seniors.

Eddie Pivonka says, “High school is really not that stressful, as long as you’re committed and responsible, so just don’t procrastinate and you’ll be fine.” Sadly, we can’t all be as studious as Eddie, so we have to find other ways to manage.

Sometimes all it takes is to put things in perspective, as Trevor Kerber says: “Whether I get into college or not, whether I finish my thesis or don’t, whether I go to bed early or late, when I wake up in the morning the sun will rise and life will go on.” (Editor’s Note: Waking up in the morning will be a lot more pleasant if you do get all those things done, but it is good to know the world isn’t going to end.)

Some of the coping methods are much simpler. Kierstin Thigpen does yoga, for example, while Gyllian Gaylor mentioned listening to Avicii (Heyyyyy Broother). When asked how she deals with the mounting workload, Jasmyn Genchev says, “I sleep.”

In the end, it comes down to what calms you down and reminds you that it will all be okay. I like country music and Mcdonald’s; the fast food and hillbilly vibes soothe my mind. Whatever their preference, our seniors are slowly but surely getting through their last year.