As senior year comes to a close, one would think that busy schedules would begin to open up, as student stress winds down.  But this could not be further from the truth.

Students seem to talk only about their schedules, which results in a sick contest of listing more activities and stress factors than their fellow classmates in a crazy search for pity.

This ridiculous competition of whose life is busier  marks a startling upwards spike in how self-centered students have become as the year draws to a close.

“I’m just so busy!  I have no time to check on homework assignments!”

“I work until nine, have a test tomorrow, and have to go to practice.  I’m just doing so much Really, it’s just too much.  No one does more than me.”

These are the comments that constantly float through the halls around the end of the year. At the end of the year, students struggle with finals, AP tests, and colleges, making the remarks accurate only in the sense that the students are busy.

There’s nothing wrong with venting every once and a while.  However, problems arise when all students talk about is their schedules, convincing themselves that they are so much busier than everybody else and place themselves above their classmates as a result of that.

Here’s a newsflash: No one wants to talk to you when all you talk about is how hard your life is.

Almost everyone is busy.  Yes, some might be busier than others but that doesn’t mean they should have their own pity party every day.

All students have  tough schedules and struggle to find balance between school, family, a job, and friends, but when students claim to be busier than everyone, they seem to judge what each student is going through when they have no real grounds to do so.

Take a step back and look at the people around you.  Take time to be their friend again, instead of their annoyance and have a real conversation.  You’ll be a much more pleasant person to be around.

We should all be looking to enjoy our last few days of the year, or of high school, by taking the time to get to know each other.  The end of the year should be spent with friends.

Seniors have just gone on senior retreat and should end their year on a positive note.  It’s the end of four years with the same people.  Why make this last year one filled with a woe-is-me attitude?

Meg Kirchner is a Reporter for “The Patriot” and jcpatriot.com.