As an underclassman, I heard about senioritis from high school seniors. The Google definition is “a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance.” This is also what I believed senioritis means. However, to me, I feel that senioritis is more complex than that.
I never thought that I would experience senioritis or have it affect me, but it is real. To me senioritis is not only being ready to be done with school, but also sad to experience all the lasts.
In my opinion and even though they contradict each other, senioritis can be a mix of feeling burnt out on school and also not ready to leave.
As a very sentimental person who has to soak in all the memories, experiencing all the lasts is very hard. As a matter of fact, my first last that hit me hard happened before my senior year even started. It was in March of 2023, and it was my last ever cheer tryouts, which was a huge deal for me, as I have been cheering since I was 3. Knowing I would never do this again really affected me, and I was pretty emotional once the tryouts ended. Ever since then all of the lasts have been piling up. Last first day of school, last first football game, last volleyball game, last home football game (senior night), last pep rally, last basketball game and last time ever cheering are some of the big ones.
I believe that being upset about all of the lasts is a kind of senioritis. One thing that has helped me not be so upset is soaking in all of the memories and taking lots of pictures. Photos allows us to capture a moment in time that we might never experience again.
However, I also believe that senioritis can also be seniors ready to graduate and be done with high school.
Personally, I have always been excited to graduate. I have always been ready to grow up, meet new friends, experience new things and just spread my wings. However, in order to do those things, I have to graduate first.
I have found myself with a lack of motivation when it comes to school work. Recently, I have only started assignments the day they were due and turning them in the day they are due and not a second before. I see myself taking naps before my assignments are due, and although my grades haven’t dropped any, I procrastinate more and do the bare minimum.
I am ready to graduate, but tired of doing the work and I want a break. Senioritis is absolutely normal, we shouldn’t feel ashamed, if we’re not working as hard as we used to. However, severe cases of senioritis can be detrimental to our future. It is okay to feel a little more lazy than usual, but if our grades began to slip too much, it is a problem. Colleges value your senior year grades, so be careful not to let your grades drop.
To all my fellow seniors, hang in there. Keep up with your obligations, take care of your responsibilities, and take breaks when you need them.