Reviews Editor Michael Birdsell is a two-year member of the Wildcat Chronicle who frequently writes opinion pieces. The views expressed in this piece are his own.

Twelve missing assignments, three failing grades, and yet no motivation in sight. While some may describe it as laziness, others will call it by its rightful name; Senioritis.

The phenomenon known as senioritis plagues many seniors throughout their final year of high school, with some experiencing the symptoms of said lack of motivation starting all the way back in sophomore year. 

While the case of senioritis hasn’t been formally diagnosed as a disease, it is known to be prevalent among those about to graduate, regardless of their level of education. Even college seniors or those in high levels of graduate school experience senioritis from time to time, whether that be a good or bad thing. 

“[For] some kids that started in August, other kids after spring break, and I feel like I’m the teacher from Peanuts, that when I talk, all they hear is wah wah, wah, wah, wah, wah. And then when things are due, they’re like, wait, you never told me and then I just point to the board and say, Well, it’s been on the board for the past couple of months,” AVID teacher Jennifer Culbertson said.

Senioritis often comes with a negative connotation, especially when students are trying to get into the college of their dreams. While for the most part, college acceptances are not reversed, in rare cases students can receive conditional acceptances to colleges that rely solely on academic performance and thus motivation throughout the year, and in rare cases flat out reversals of acceptances.

Further proving how hard it can be to deal with senioritis, though on the plus side, knowing that these possibilities exist come with the benefit of a motivator. Students are more likely to want to succeed if there is this metaphorical college acceptance hanging over their heads, though even top students can’t even muster up said motivation once they reach the end of their senior year.

“It had destroyed my motivation to do any work for some of my classes and has had drastic negative effects on one of my classes specifically. AP Macro[economics] has been the biggest victim of my current battle with senioritis,” senior Graham Johnson said.

Senioritis is a serious “disease” and students must diagnose it early on if they want to “cure” themselves and find newfound motivation in order to keep their grades up and not become overwhelmed by the often challenging course load that senior year can surprisingly throw at students.

“Senioritis has made me unable to get my school work done on time. All that’s in the back of my mind is the fact that I have been accepted into college, which makes my second semester feel pointless,” senior Jasmin Leyva said.

In order to curb senioritis, students have to ensure they keep up the motivation, no matter what their brain may tell them, as those habits will follow them into college and their future beyond if they don’t recognize their faults. Giving in to the senioritis can be quite tempting, though not worth the consequences in the end. Students should work to build better study habits and ensure they keep pace with their course work in order to finish the final lap that is senior year strong.