I’ve been putting this off way too long. Several months ago, I was asked by one of the nice girls who runs this reputable publication to write an article dealing with the subject of senioritis. I said sure. I went to write one day aaand I ended up shelving the idea and writing something else. At the time, I thought senioritis was kind of uninteresting. I didn’t honestly think it was real. Or at least not real in a way that would affect me. And here I am, late at night, finally getting around to writing this piece.
I’m not any kind of health professional, and nothing came up on WebMD, but I’m diagnosing myself with acute stage 3 senioritis. And I’m not the only one.
The concept of senioritis is simple enough. Seniors in high school begin to suffer from a variety of symptoms. Lack of motivation and a tendency to procrastinate are the most common. Seniors who suffer from senioritis no longer fear receiving a B plus instead of an A minus, and they struggle to rationalize putting forth their best effort. These are side effects of being close to finishing high school. The seniors all have plans for next year. And whatever they are -college, work, trade school, etc- they are not plans that involve high school. Grades don’t really matter much in this second semester, and exams are avoidable. There’s really not a whole lot to convince the seniors to keep working hard.
And that’s where I am. It affects me in some classes more than others. It’s just hard to want to continue to do my best. Statistics is a big aggravator for my condition, though I continue to daily work through it as best as my failing academic drive will allow. However, I would like to say that some people have a much worse case than I do, and my thoughts and prayers are with those people. Don’t worry about me, worry about those people. At the end of the year, every senior feels a little bit of senioritis I think, in either a big or small way. But I don’t think this has to reach epidemic levels for any class. That is to say, there are ways to avoid the bug.
And they are:
Okay honestly I’m not really feeling it to think of them myself so here’s some links to websites where people have outlined their own thoughts.
- https://www.collegecountdown.com/blog/in-the-classroom/8-tips-for-how-to-avoid-senioritis-in-high-school.html
- https://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/five-ways-you-can-avoid-senioritis
- https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-admissions-playbook/2015/08/31/3-tips-to-stop-high-school-senioritis-before-it-starts
This isn’t a rubric for me to follow but I think three sources should be enough probably. If you’re motivated, read these. I think they seem pretty good.
Good luck guys (and girls). Stay strong. If you can. Otherwise, join me and the others who are suffering from the incurable ailment that is senioritis. And we can make it to the end of the year together.
