As the end of the school year approaches, a slew of seniors suffer from senioritis: a decline in motivation and drive required to finish the spring semester of high school. Throughout the entirety of their four years of education, most students have worked to achieve the goal of acceptance into their dream college, or at least walking across the stage to receive their diploma. With both of these standing as realistic goals for a countless amount, seniors tend to slack off in terms of their studies, as well as overall school attendance. Though senioritis remains inevitable for a majority of pupils about to graduate, optimistic methods to aid awful cases of senioritis can encourage fatigued teenagers to finish off the year strong. 

“Senioritis definitely kicked in after I got back from Christmas break, I don’t know why I thought I would come back rejuvenated; I just have no motivation now. I definitely loved being able to travel with the magnet program, I think that’s one of the things getting me through the semester, just going on the trip to Japan. Also, it’s fun to look forward to other things like graduation and prom, and being able to hang out with my friends every day has made it worth it for sure,” magnet senior Rowan Moretz said. 

Strong support systems

While life can throw unexpected curveballs and unwarranted stress at any point in time, the pressure of making high standardized test scores, passing classes and maintaining a squeaky-clean record can take a massive toll on burnt-out seniors. Support systems remain essential, as they can include friends, parents and counselors. They motivate students who lack self-ambition and mental stability by serving as safe spaces. Other high school seniors taking similar classes likely possess identical feelings regarding school, and can also unintentionally push their peers to work toward the goal together.

Savoring senior year

Although the stress-inducing year puts gray hair in a plethora of heads, senior year marks the final months for several students to live at home, eat home-cooked meals and see the same groups of people on a day-to-day basis before attending their college of choice. A new chapter in a student’s life does not automatically hold a negative connotation; however, the drastic change can offer significant chances, which frequently require major adjustments in one’s life. While this change appeals to a handful of people, holding on to the last bit of childhood and enjoying activities such as a senior trip, senior superlatives, clubs and sports events make senior year worth it in the end.

“I feel like I’m ready to go to college and move out, and feel like I have more independence, but I’m not necessarily rushing to get it over with. I want to experience the rest of the semester and wanna be able to graduate with my friends and I don‘t want it to just come to an abrupt end. I also like taking classes because I feel like it’s fun to learn new things, even if I do feel a little unmotivated,” Moretz said. 

Countdown the days until graduation

With graduation right around the corner, students enjoy marking off their calendars every day until graduation to speed up the time. For several, the mere fact that they will soon shake the proctor’s hand and receive their diplomas allows them to easily power through the semester and work extra hard. 

“I didn’t really start getting senioritis until this semester, but honestly the biggest motivation is that I get to walk the stage after four long years. My favorite part about high school has been getting to spend time with my friends and doing senior things like going to football games and homecoming, but I definitely want it to be over so I can move on to the next chapter of my life and see what those four years of high school did for me,” senior Samerah Slaughter said.