By the Gargoyle senior editors

Posted Monday, March 26, 2007, The OG, opinions

TRADITIONAL THEORY STATES that for high school seniors the spring is either devoted to maintaining a respectable work ethic or slacking off after catching a devastating case of senioritis (no points for guessing which theory originates from parents). No matter whom you ask, the general consensus is that the second semester of senior year is easy, a time of coasting.

We the senior editors beg to differ.

Most college applications are sent off by around Jan. 1, and seniors are ready to hear back by early March and even late February. The waiting only induces a sense of urgency, impatience, and even anxiety, hardly coasting.

The problem is that colleges send off their decisions around April 1 — almost a month after we're emotionally and mentally ready to hear back. That's one agonizing month where, each day, we rush home in hopes that the admissions office of “I Want to Go Here University” has mistakenly processed and mailed an enthusiastic acceptance letter a month early. Day and day again we're disappointed.

There's a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon where Calvin, the 6-year-old protagonist, ingests huge amounts of sugary cereal in an attempt to win a “beanie” delivered through the mail. Once it's all been eaten and the proof-of-purchases have been mailed out, the waiting process begins.

For Calvin, the wait seems interminable, and he rushes home after school to ask his mom if the beanie came in the mail — even though she had just mailed out the order that morning.

It's not quite that bad for seniors, who appreciate the week or three without college applications to work on. However, we soon begin to resemble Calvin, who, after promising to be good and still not receiving his beanie, shouts in frustration to the sky, “WHAT'S IT TAKE, HUH?!”

At one point, Calvin's friend Hobbes suggests that “maybe the mailman made a second trip today and delivered it in the last five minutes,” and Calvin goes rushing off to check the mailbox. Yes, like Calvin, some of us have checked the mailbox again despite knowing the mail has already been delivered.

Of course, there's an alternative to this kind of obsessiveness. It was always present, but we lost sight of it sometime around the beginning of our junior year. This is how it works: Put in time and effort in exchange for valuable opportunities and experiences that aren't necessarily about building up a résumé.

Take the chance to play outside with friends on a rainy day instead of going from chess lesson to piano lesson to drama lesson to writing lesson. Try creating your own play purely for the joy of writing, engaging in a sport to develop personal skills and team camaraderie, and, improbable as it is, studying math or science to appreciate the beauty of a rigorous proof or chemical reaction.

Sure, let's open those long-awaited college letters in April and take pride in the results of our hard work. But let's not forget that there's more to life. The beautiful weather around the beginning of spring break said it best — just get out there and frolic!

RELATED: COLLEGE JOURNEY SERIES

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— Article: Bethany looks for a college … and ignores the hype

— Article: Bethany finishes her applications … and waits for the results