Around this time each school year, high school seniors are plagued with the contagious affliction that haunts every aspect of their lives, both inside of school and out, known as senioritis. 

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, senioritis is defined as “an ebbing of motivation and effort by school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences, and lower grades.” In other words, seniors are in a place of burnout that includes a lack of motivation, and feelings of exhaustion and stress from increased pressure and high expectations.

In the season of senioritis, there are more negative influences on seniors than there are positive benefits. Grades start dropping, seniors start skipping school or showing up late, and the overall stress of balancing school, work, and personal lives leaves students searching for answers to this issue that is temporary and will only be permanent if allowed it to be. 

Yet despite these burdens, there are a number of ways that seniors can reduce senioritis. This includes maintaining a clean and organized workload, keeping up with important dates and events, finding hobbies and activities to relieve stress, and ultimately enjoying senior year in a responsible, positive manner. If needed, taking mental health breaks will keep you moving forward in the long run. 

Here’s a reality check for the seniors: Graduation is less than six weeks away. That’s right. Everything you’ve worked for and stressed yourself out with will finally be acknowledged in a three hour ceremony that ends with a piece of paper in your hands. Sounds exciting, right? 

Not really. It might give you five seconds of fame and mark your ‘I made it’ moment, but in the end, would it really be worth all the stress, anticipation, and anxiety that consistently looms over our heads? 

I would hope so, but life doesn’t get easier from here. In fact, there will be times that life will test you as an adult that feels almost impossible to overcome. Whatever life has in store- attending college, getting a full time job, raising your own family- don’t expect it to be easy. However, maybe I could give all the seniors some motivation, even if you don’t want to be motivated or feel that a little motivation won’t help. 

Imagine yourself standing right in front of the finish line of a marathon. You’re almost at the end, so why give up now? Maybe you have people in your life who never thought you’d make it, so why not prove them wrong? Show them that you CAN do it and CAN achieve success. 

Remember to celebrate the smaller victories along the way and be appreciative of the setbacks you may encounter, because no one has reached success without facing difficult trials and being pushed a few steps back. This doesn’t necessarily mean hitting rock bottom, but it can definitely change you for the better. 

For now, senioritis is spreading within the halls of PA, looking for its next victim from the Class of 2023. 

Works Cited:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/senioritis

https://counseling.steinhardt.nyu.edu/blog/high-school-senioritis/