Senior year: everything students have yet to do before entering adulthood. While this year is full of some of the most memorable high school moments, it’s also full of stress, anxiety, anticipation, and fear.
For the class of 2024, these pressures are apparent as so much is going on within these next months, mapping out not only the rest of the year but also their lives beyond high school.
The end of November and early December is the time for students to choose what schools they plan to spend the next four years of their lives at, a moment that decides how individuals will spend their adult years.
With so much choice and opportunity, it is likely to feel exciting and powerful, but alongside these emotions comes responsibility and dedication, which brings up nerves and pressure for most.
Leana Crow, an Ida B. Wells High School senior, said senioritis is “a lack of motivation towards being proficient in school as I used to be, and not having any motivation to go [to school].”
Senioritis is defined by The Scholarship System as, “a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance.”
A senior at IBW, Morgan Hutchison, says her definition of senioritis is “being so tired of school, not thinking that anything is significant,” Hutchison says. “It [motivation] is just not there because if I don’t feel the importance I have felt before, the motivation is just zero.”
There is a wide range of impacts on students stemming from reactions such as “feeling burnt out, personality changes, and lack of motivation,” said an article in GCU Experience on January 09, 2023. “In serious cases, students allow their grades to drop significantly, universities may rescind offers of admission,” said El Estoque’s latest stories.
Jonathan Wallaby, a senior at IBW, said senioritis is “when you get lazy cause you think everything is done, but you still have a whole year left.” When asked if he was having trouble getting out of bed in the mornings, he said, “Yeah, Like really bad,” He explained his struggles of showing up late as well
Even after finishing college applications, some may need to catch up in performance, so seniors aren’t creating damaging outcomes for their future.
There is a unanimous understanding of the feelings and emotions during senior year. The struggle may be linked to trouble getting out of bed in the morning, spending the latter half of the day daydreaming, being late to classes or skipping classes entirely, turning in your assignments late, and, if on time, delivering subpar work. These experiences are universal for seniors.
