Seniors are just days from graduating. For many, this is a sigh of relief. However, for some students, this is too big of a breath. Senioritis is defined as a decline in motivation in school work for seniors in high school. But is this a real thing?
Senior, Marissa Todd, expresses her point of senioritis being real. “When you get to a certain point in the school year, you already know you are going to graduate so it is pointless to be here.” Another student, Trinity Yetman, says, “You’re so close to the finish line and all you want to do is finally be done.”
Even the staff agrees with this. Guidance counselor, Ms. Moriarty, says senioritis is very real. “I’ve seen it happen in all the years I’ve been here.”
The second semester is the turning point for many seniors. They see that the end of their high school career is nearing and they can finally relax a little bit more. Students are waiting for the year to come to a close. This can come off as laziness to people just looking on. “I checked out of school mentaly once Christmas break hit,” says Trinity.
The semester-long course, Capstone, focuses on research, writing, and presenting. One thing to know is it is a graduation requirement for all seniors. Some students take it in the first semester, some in the second. Students who have already taken it felt the stress. Now that the class and semester is over, they feel they have more time for themselves. “After twelve years of being in school and now that graduation is so close we have the chance to enjoy our childhood and spend time with each other and prioritize other things in our lives aside from school since we’re very close and most of us have been accepted to colleges already,” Marissa adds.
It has even had an impact on after school clubs that students partake in. Trinity addresses her lack of participation in the club she partakes in. “Once school is over, I feel so drained that I don’t have the full capacity to attend meetings the way I did in the past.”
Grades for the first semester have closed and were updated on transcripts. These grades are sent to colleges and universities that students have been accepted to. Because of this, seniors have taken back just to make it to graduation. Ms. Moriarty adds, “Once the spring comes and college acceptances are in and decisions are made, seniors get a little lax in their work ethic.”