Post-Test Regret:
Picture this: your math teacher announces a test next class. You tell yourself that you will ace this one. However, when it comes time to study, you find yourself engrossed in Instagram Reels. You tell yourself the material is common sense and that studying would insult your ability to perform under pressure. When it is time to take the test, you realize in horror that it was, in fact, not common sense. You quickly register that you are going to retake this class. You go home to look up the test questions and see that you got half of them wrong. The regret hits you—you could have studied, you should have studied. Now you know the material, but it is too little, too late.
— Atharava Pandey, Sports Editor
Senior Nostalgia:
The last first day of school, last football game, and last test are common experiences many seniors share that encourage them to reflect and reminisce on their high school years. This nostalgia is a lingering undertone present during every single one of the 180 days that compose senior year, provoking a desire for students to regress to their younger selves and behaviors, as the senior backpack trend demonstrates. As the first chapter of life comes to an end in senior year, it evokes sadness from many, but also provides a chance for new opportunities and experiences in both the present and future.
— Sam Gruetter, Editor-in-Chief
Procrastination Paralysis:
Yikes! The emotion you grapple with is procrastination paralysis. Picture yourself on Sunday after a long week at school or work. What might you be doing? Studying? Out with your friends? No, not you. You are stuck in front of your computer, staring at it with glassy eyes. You have ten assignments that you’ve been trying to start for the past two hours. Instead, that second tab in YouTube is looking more tantalizing by the second. You might have to cancel those plans, I mean, you can’t go out; you have homework! The very same homework you just can’t force yourself to do. You swore this weekend would be productive…maybe next time.
— Sahil Muthukrishnan, Culture Editor
Phone Separation Anxiety:
It’s everyone’s favorite new state law, the Phone-Free Schools Act, and it’s the reason why the emotion you experience is phone separation anxiety! If you’re unsure if you have this, look for these classic symptoms: a racing heart whenever you see a classroom phone pocket, twitching fingers in the habit of texting, and a nonexistent personality if it’s dependent on being chronically online. There is no easy solution to fix your phone separation anxiety, and it might be for the best, as a little space from your phone isn’t always a bad thing. Try going outside, but if that is too advanced, simply start by watching a show on a good, old-fashioned television.
— Megan Saul, Editor-in Chief
Workout Clarity:
Deep breath in… and deep breath out. Feel those endorphins pumping? That serene clarity after an especially hard sports practice or a hot workout keeps you coming back for more. After exerting yourself so much, the world feels simpler on your short drive home. Maybe it’s time to stare off into space and appreciate the little things as you listen to the birds chirping. For a moment, your worries and pressures cease to exist, allowing you to take things slowly for once. Consider going the long way home as you relax, or maybe just be happy that you have a second to yourself.
— Claudia Casal, People Editor
Instagram like count anxiety:
Dang it! The emotion you struggle with is Post-Traumatic Like Disorder (PTLD). In other words, the moment you post anything on Instagram, TikTok, or even your private Snapchat story, you enter an anxious paralysis, checking the likes and views every five minutes. You can forget about putting your phone away and manifesting the content to go viral. Once the doctor diagnoses you with PTLD, it’s too late; the only thing left to do is to break your phone in half and throw it in a crucible. Might as well throw in your computer, your iPad, and, maybe even your Apple Watch–anything you could check your socials on. Other symptoms may include upset stomach, headaches, and a deep-rooted feeling of isolation from your loyal followers. At the end of the day, all you need is a deep breath and a chai latte.
— Nelson Kramer, Editor-in-Chief
Late night motivation:
Do you get unexplained bursts of motivation in the wee hours of the morning? If so, you are not alone. The feeling creeps up when you accomplish nothing during your waking hours. Maybe you made a sandwich or finished a TV show, but as you’re laying in bed, you see your messy room, the two essays you still have to write, and the book you said you were starting a month ago. Quickly but silently, you clean up your whole room, start writing your first essay, and crack open your book. Only when you wake up in the morning with an unopened book on your face and gibberish posing as coherent sentences do you realize you should’ve just gone to sleep. But hey! At least you have a clean room.
— Kloe Adams, Game Editor
Third Wheel Awkwardness:
Oh no. You’ve done it again. You accidentally tagged along on your friend’s date. Forced to witness their acts of PDA and teenage romance, you feel an immense desire to crawl into a hole and hide for all eternity. Say hello to third-wheel awkwardness, consisting of regret and the desire to scream, “Get a room!” You might think this emotion is avoidable if none of your friends are dating. Unfortunately, you would be wrong. This cringy discomfort also emerges when two of your friends act particularly clingy and mushy. Though they may deny being in a relationship, you can’t help but feel like you are intruding on a date every time the three of you hang out. The only sure-fire way to avoid third-wheel awkwardness is to avoid traveling in trios.
— Annabelle Pan, Graphics Editor
Answering a question brutally wrong:
Answering a question brutally wrong in class isn’t for the weak. Even though the mitochondrion is the powerhouse of the cell, it doesn’t make you the nucleus of class discussion. In fact, it does the opposite: even the teacher is laughing at you! Your table tells you that “it was just a really hard question,” but you can feel yourself turning red faster than you can say the word “asymptote” in math class. Even though the class will soon forget about your academic mishap, you can’t help but feel defeated like the Continental Army in 1780 after the catastrophic loss that was the Battle of Camden. Nice job putting yourself out there, but alas, the odds were not in your favor this time around.
— Hayley Strahs, Editor-in-chief
Finishing a TV series depression:
You shut your laptop. It’s 1:00 AM, and you just binged the final season of the TV show you’ve been anticipating watching for six months. The world feels like a pretty good place for once until it hits you: that was the season finale. The final season. There’s no more cute Xavier to obsess over, no more energetic Enid to laugh at, and no more reckless Wednesday to secretly admire. The haven your perfect TV show built for you slowly fizzles away, taking its happy bubble with it. But don’t worry, there’s a cure; open Netflix and a menu of happy bubbles will appear!
— Tanvi Ambekar, Opinion Editor