With the collective stress of Advanced Placement course exams and Standards of Learning tests coming to a close in mid-May, the majority of students struggle to rekindle the motivation that has recently deflated.  Some simply wave goodbye to the standard of grades that they’ve maintained throughout the year, while others find a second wind and plow through until they are satisfied with their work.  Despite popular beliefs, there are ways to continue a motivated and academically rigorous schedule as we come down the home stretch.

A common strategy that students use to stay motivated is to focus on the prospective rewards that will come from motivation to finish out the year strong.  Sophomore Michael Xu uses this strategy when it comes to the end of the year.

“Think about the rewards, that’s what I do and I suck at being motivated…by knowing that if I do good on them [final exams] it will help my academic career,” said Xu.

Others use a similar strategy by forcing themselves to think about their Grade Point Averages and final scores.  By setting realistic goals and looking forward to how things will pay off, you can really push yourself to keep going.  Junior Esther James has a strong work ethic and knows that continuous effort will pay off in the end.

“I want to keep my GPA up, so I know that if I start slacking off now, then it’s just going to affect me later on, so that’s my main drive,” said James.

James likes to give herself incentives to stay motivativated as well.

“I think just setting deadlines for yourself and saying if I get it done by this point, then I can go do something more fun,” said James.

Another way to stay motivated is to find something to focus on to give your last few weeks of school a purpose.  Sophomore Mark Mogensen uses this method, despite his belief that people don’t stay motivated.

“Find something at school that you love, whether it’s one of your teachers or a club you like, get more involved as school starts to end and find something to do over the summer,” said Mogensen.

Junior Dhara Virahidi knows that the worst is over and that there are plenty of year-end opportunities to make progress.

“I figured since most of my classes are AP’s the biggest and hardest parts are over, so nothing can really bring me down now and it’s a lot easier; I know I can only go up from here and it helps,” said Virahidi.

For the seniors, there is not much hope of motivation.  With our feet halfway out the door, and the opportunity to skip final exams, there is not much of a reason to keep up the intense motivation that they once possessed.

There is no need to overdo yourself at this point of the school year, but be sure to make a point to push yourself the extra mile until we reach June 13 and freedom.