Senior year is the time of our lives that every school-aged kid looks forward to. We’ve seen all the movies, like High School Musical 3 or maybe even Superbad, and to say that we’re excited for the supposedly carefree and fun-filled year is an understatement. Parties, romantic relationships, getting ready for college, a (relatively) easy course load. It’s everything that burnt-out 17 and 18 year olds could ever dream of. However, there’s one thing that they didn’t warn you about. A creeping disease known only as senioritis has infected most of the senior class of 2021 now that it’s second semester, and we’re going to see the effects it’s had on our classmates. 

   As defined by Google (a senior’s best friend), senioritis is “a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance.” It can also be identified by other signs like no longer caring about one’s appearance such as having bedhead or wearing pajamas to school, staying up all night to watch Netflix instead of studying, having an excess amount of late assignments or absences, and hoping to whatever higher power above that your college acceptances won’t get rescinded. The only known cure to senioritis? Graduation. And we’re slowly trudging to the mirage of the glorious cap and gown. 

   A good balance of hard work and slacking off is definitely needed when senior year comes around. As an example, Myah Abbott is trying to finish this year off strong, with good grades, mostly perfect attendance, and the readiness she will need in order to to succeed in college. But, like all of us, she likes to just sit back and relax once in a while, mostly binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix or playing games on her phone. She’s also devised ways she can keep her motivation high, even in the wake of COVID-19 and the mental exhaustion from constant switching between virtual learning and in-person learning. She regroups, and takes study breaks in order to collect her thoughts and have a fresh start. After that, she’s much more efficient. Luckily, she isn’t worried about her IU-Bloomington offer getting rescinded, and she feels like senioritis will melt away once she’s at college, as she’ll be studying something she loves and will be much more motivated.

   On the other hand, some people like to go down in a blaze of glory when it comes to the end of their senior year. Jaden Roth is one of those people. He says he’s ready to just graduate and get out of here, but finds it extremely difficult to complete his work. He also relays that getting schoolwork done is also much more difficult due to frequent virtual learning days due to school closures from COVID-19, and motivation to succeed is harder to come by nowadays. As for senioritis, he sums it up with a succinct “I just let it consume me.” Fortunately, though, he will not have to worry about getting any of his college offers rescinded due to the fact that he will not be going to college in the fall, and instead will be training to be an electrical lineman. 

   Other seniors are wanting to keep motivated and finish off the year strong, but are finding it much more difficult to do so because we are having a less than traditional high school experience.  Due to COVID-19, we aren’t getting any of the “rewards” that come with completing high school, such as senior skip day and homecoming, and for a while we wondered if we would get a prom. Katlyn Sherinian elaborates on this, explaining how we no longer have those classic high school milestones, and that senioritis has been crushing her lately. To combat her lack of motivation, Katlyn usually just tells herself that all her hard work will eventually pay off, and puts off her work by preparing for the future, such as researching for college, life advice, and jobs. She also likes to lay in bed, take naps, and play with her dog. She’s hoping her motivation will return in college, where she will be majoring in Business Management. 

   Many more in the senior class of 2021, including myself, are struggling to stay on top of everything that life throws at us. Work, adulthood, life decisions, lack of motivation or caring. It’s all very stressful, and after our long 12-13 years of hard toiling in the educational system, we deserve a break from the constant assignments that just keep rolling in and the nagging teachers who are questioning why you haven’t been in class for the past week. Why not let ourselves go a bit so we can gorge on Cheetos and Law & Order while we ignore that 6-page essay that’s due tomorrow? It may seem like it’s all going downhill, but the good thing about senioritis is that it will wear off by the time you become a college freshman. 

…Right?