Senioritis or just really lazy kids? I’d argue that senioritis is very real. It’s a condition that seniors in high school get when they have been doing the same repetitive thing for 4 years straight. Hillary Sheilds, an academic advisor from Southern New Hampshire University, described senioritis as a lack of motivation that often results in grade decline, unfinished assignments, poor work quality, procrastination, skipping, and general loss of interest in school. If you can relate to these symptoms, I feel qualified to diagnosis you with senioritis!   

Now, you may be thinking; is there a cure?  Well, luckily for you, The Great Hearts America came out with a list that claims to have the cure for senioritis. The list suggested not to overdue your usage of caffeine, sleep more, and build healthy habits.  

Personally, I don’t drink coffee or energy drinks, I get 8 hours of sleep or more every night, and let’s be real, no one is building healthy habits at the end of these 4 long years. Yet, with great sleep and no caffeine, I still seem to have all the symptoms of senioritis. I know I’m not alone in my experience, so I asked some of my classmates if they think that senioritis is real, or if it’s just laziness.  

First, Vaughn Brandes gave a very honest answer. He said, “I think senioritis is definitely real and not just being lazy because the importance of high school just sort of falls off a cliff after AP testing and college commitments.”  I can agree with that; committing to college was definitely where my decline began because why would I be worried about The Importance of Being Earnest when I’m going to be at college in a few months?  

I asked the same question about senioritis to my lovely tablemate Nye Vance. She shared, “I think it’s real, but I have also always loved skipping class. Like, people think it comes out of nowhere, but people who skipped in the past are going to skip even more now.” Unfortunately, I have always loved skipping, so that doesn’t help my case.  

As much as I appreciated the answers my fellow students gave, I also wanted to know what a West Seattle teacher thought about so-called senioritis. Who better to ask than Mr. Glover himself if he thinks senioritis is real? Glover commented, “I think the end of senior year is a time where some people can begin to see a certain type of laziness that people have always had hidden within themselves, and the end of the year is when it comes out. All the students that do slack off at the end of the year, it’s them being lazy, and not them being possessed by a senioritis demon.” There you have it folks: YOU ARE NOT POSSESSED BY THE SENIORITIS DEMON, YOU’RE JUST LAZY!!!  

Well, my interviews definitely gave me mixed reviews, so I’ll meet them in the middle. Senioritis is partly just laziness, but for good reason! We seniors are exhausted by the end of the year. Every week, there’s a new assignment and with the finish line right there, can you blame us for being a little lazy?  

For the past 2 weeks, this is how I’ve delt with senioritis: 1) Stare intensely at the Es in the grade book and let anxiety consume me. 2) Give half my attention to my phone while I work. 3) Take days of school off that are dedicated to studying and then end up getting nothing done.  

My best advice to anyone struggling with senioritis is to push yourself to get at least one assignment and see how good it feels to see that grade go up. Then, push yourself to do one more, and soon those grades will slowly but surely rise. Also, it’s okay to ask teachers for help and skip lunches with friends to sit down in the library to get work done. That way, you compromise; you get work done so you get to go home and be as lazy as you want. We also just got our cap and gowns, which means this is it. We are so close! Get those grades up to at least passing and then go enjoy the sun, or get yourself a treat because you deserve it!