While it may seem hard to believe, two-thirds of our school year have already passed us, and seniors will find themselves yet again as freshmen, but in college. However it’s during this time of the year when a disease known as “senioritis” runs rampant through the senior class. While many see senioritis as a lack of motivation to put in any effort into school such as studying or doing homework, I see it as something else entirely. Many seniors are simply using the “condition” as an excuse.
It seems that us seniors are using senioritis as a fallback whenever we can. Didn’t do homework? Senioritis. Didn’t study for or failed a test? Senioritis. 10 minutes late to class? Senioritis. Haven’t shown up to first period for the entire week? You guessed it, Senioritis. One of the biggest problems I have with senioritis is how it’s being used as an excuse to be lazy more than 90% of the time. If you’re lazy and you admit it then I have no problem with that, but if you’re going to blame the fact that your GPA is dropping faster than a lead Calculus book on some fake condition, that’s where things get iffy.
The other 10% of cases where people use senioritis is when they’re actually afraid. I know personally that when I’m hanging out with friends or playing videogames, I’m not worried about how I’ll feed and clothe myself in college. With every minute that we seniors spend on academics, we realize how our four year stay at a place where we’ve become comfortable is coming to a close.
“[Senioritis] is a popular aspect of teen culture,” AP Psychology Ms. Kyla Hjertstedt said. “Students feel like they should experience it.”
It’s easy to forget that you’ll soon be completely responsible for yourself and your education while you’re saying, “Oh well, second semester senior!” as you skip the fifth math assignment in a row. For many of us, our parents see our entering college also as an entering into adulthood. We’re soon going to be expected to know how to fend for ourselves in the world, and for those of us who are leaving home, to take care of ourselves alone for the first time in our lives, and while I do get that the thought of doing so is scary, being lazy and using senioritis as your excuse isn’t the right way to face those fears.
We’ve worked hard for three and a half years at this school, so we might as well finish strong. You wouldn’t run a 100 mile marathon and stop right before the finish line would you? Of course not, and so you shouldn’t let yourself clock out of high school early either. Also to end things off on a happy note, don’t forget that colleges can, and will, rescind you if your GPA drops low enough
TCHS School Newspaper