It creeps up on seniors every year, but no one is ever prepared for it. According to the dictionary, “senioritis” is a descriptive word used to describe students with declined motivation to do school work as they near the end of high school. Some “symptoms” could be skipping class, a drop in grades, procrastination, and a loss of interest in studies. It has even been tested in surveys that seniors are three times more likely to strongly agree that their academic effort will decline in the second semester. Though you may think to yourself, “well, then they just need to be motivated,” it is not that easy. As the anniversary of quarantine passes, we see a year of missed opportunities and memories. Typically, senioritis is at least enjoyed in a school atmosphere, but that is no longer the case for the graduating Class of 2021. 

Some students already know where they are going to college, while most seniors are starting to receive college decisions. Students are balancing their daily lives, academics, college applications and results, and if they do participate, athletics. With so much going on, both in school life and the real world, it can be overwhelming for students to stay motivated regarding every assignment and task. You cannot just tell someone to be motivated, but they need to make decisions on their own if they want to keep doing well. Mental health and wellness as a whole has been especially tested and stressed, and it is more important than ever to check on students’ well beings rather than solely their grades. 

In the past, one way the school combatted these negative feelings and lack of motivation was by getting seniors to read a letter. A mock letter from a college asked a student why they have not maintained their grades and informed the student that they are planning to take their acceptance away. Such a method is one way to combat senioritis because having a college acceptance taken away after all that hard work is a horrible feeling. 

However, there are other ways to combat this common feeling among seniors. One is to surround yourself with people who will help you through the challenging courses and difficult times. Senior year is stressful, and it is crucial to keep good people in your life through it. Secondly, reward yourself. You finally got through the stress of applying to colleges, so try to celebrate the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives so that you can feel happy as you continue working through the semester. Finally, take a break. Now, this does not mean completely dropping everything, but when the work gets tough, it’s okay to take a breather until you are ready to keep going. 

This message is also a public service announcement to students currently in their junior year. Senior year is stressful with rigorous courses, college applications, recommendations, and the anxiety of waiting to hear back from them. Once this stressful process is over, you may feel like you want to just drop everything and relax, but try to keep pushing yourself to do your best until the year finally reaches its conclusion so you can feel even better about completing high school!