Senioritis: The Hidden(?) Epidemic

Written by Alana Harris

As a Senior with less than a month left of high school, and after waiting 12 years for this inevitably, terrifying, yet liberating sense of freedom that comes with graduation, the word senioritis has become almost as overused as these Chromebooks. 

Graduation Cap Toss

Senioritis is defined as “A decline in motivation or academic performance that supposedly afflicts some seniors in high school, especially in their last term.” 

A lot of my friends are absent for days in a row, which I completely understand. It's really difficult to convince yourself to get up and start your day so early, go socialize, and work on assignments that no matter the outcome, you know you will graduate, kind of feels useless.

“As for my situation and many others, I have already met all of my graduation requirements” Said by 2025 Senior interviewee, “although I am trying to keep my grades up, my motivation to wake up and come to school is fading.”  

Senioritis seems like a myth or just an excuse to be lazy but there can actually be many different reasons for this feeling. For many seniors their excitement for the future and plans awaiting them after they walk the stage makes their high school responsibilities seem small and irrelevant. They may seem like they’re being defiant, but they're actually just becoming restless from their anticipation.

We have all worked so hard and so long to get here and it's hard to stay patient. In this last stretch of the year, and for a lot of seniors, the burnout feeling is hard to avoid. Students are mentally and physically exhausted just counting down the days until we are done. Apart from the students with excitement for their future there is also the fear that comes with that type of freedom. Going off on your own, the immense change, independence and responsibility can be extremely overwhelming. 

High school assignments can seem a lot less important when you’re worrying about college, taxes, employment and housing. Especially getting what feels like a daily lecture about the future and all the things you need to prepare and succeed, which can honestly feel more overwhelming than it is helpful.

There's a large portion of students who actually experience the opposite of “senioritis.” Some people decide to get their grades up and things together at the very end, working their hardest before they graduate, typically to make sure they can.  Sometimes these are the kids who slacked off during the majority of the year, scrambling everything together at the end. 

There's also the other side, a lot of students who have had a great academic year and want to finish off strong, keep their grades up and make sure their years worth of work is something to take pride in all the way till the end. These students typically have different, yet similar motivations. They generally have after high school plans and understand the effect of their grades, participation or GPA on their plans whether it be college, careers. The students who have this sort of motivation all the way till the end usually have some sort of goal they’re working to achieve. Although, for some it could just be for the personal sense of achievement in working hard for their senior year to be something to be proud of. 

Overall whether your academic decline motivation is from fear or excitement or really just no longer caring, try your best to enjoy every single moment of senior year as much as possible. High school feels like it lasts forever, but it doesn’t. During this last stretch, time moves so fast and this place and people you thought you could never get away from faster and the small things you never thought you cared about, you will miss. So enjoy it and appreciate it time moves way too fast so try your best to enjoy every little moment.