Dear Knights,

All throughout high school I have wondered if “senioritis” actually exists. I was determined that when I became a senior, I would never catch the “bug.” I was going to stay strong and focused on getting good grades, studying and doing homework. But, as a senior almost about to head into the fourth marking period, I can tell you all in complete confidence that senioritis does exist.

The senioritis disease hits seniors after winter break, after having weeks off to relax, students walk back into the high school and realize that life is much better without homework. And when students come back to school after winter break, they are overjoyed that they are in their graduating year. The end is closer!

The effects of senioritis strike again when students commit to a college. Students have decided and committed to their next four years, and are ready to leave high school. Some students feel that once they have their future planned out that high school does not matter anymore. They embody the “I’m going to college, who cares about my high school grades” attitude. Although many teachers believe that senioritis is a figment of our imagination, I disagree because after a certain amount of school days, our minds shut down and we start to care less about high school. During senior year, our minds are geared more towards our future than the classes we are sitting in.

The effects of senioritis include: not going to school, not doing homework, not caring about your classes, not studying for tests, taking naps after school, taking naps in school, coming into school late to get more sleep, leaving school early for no real reason, not participating in classes, and simply just not caring about anything school related.

The cures to senioritis include: graduating high school.
The sophomores and juniors who feel as though they have senioritis as well are mistaken for two other common diseases that are less severe than senioritis: sophomorisitis and junioritis. This happens to a sophomore and junior who are done with the course load, the SATs, and the college search. The difference between senioritis and these other two diseases are that juniors and sophomores still have another year or two, when seniors only have a couple months left. Both diseases have many of the same effects as senioritis, but when a senior comes down with senioritis, their bodies and minds cannot handle anymore high school work.

As a student who cares deeply about my school work and getting good grades, I have found myself catching the disease as well. My effects of senioritis include: waiting until lunch to do homework, barely studying and just winging it on tests, and always taking naps after school. As much as I do not want to procrastinate and I want to stay on top of my work, as graduation gets closer and closer, it gets harder and harder to think that my high school grades are as important as they were back in sophomore and junior year.

Senioritis is more common than the flu and definitely worse than it too. Senioritis is real and it happens in schools all throughout the country. For any senior who hasn’t caught this disease, I congratulate you on making it through high school without checking out.

Sincerely,

Siena