Springtime brings much joy into the world when it rolls around each year. After a seemingly perpetual winter, the April showers stay true to their nature and bring May flowers. New life in the form of flora and fauna begins to spring up from every corner of the earth in this radiantly beautiful season. However, this new life gives birth to a new array of problems in the forms of allergies and disease. A particular group of students at the U High suffer from a chronic and contagious malady that seems to come around only this time of year. That group? Seniors. The condition? Senioritis. 

Senioritis is the general term used by seniors, and their frustrated teachers, to describe the lack of motivation and feelings of laziness that they feel during their last semester of high school. No one can put a finger on when the pattern starts, but many seniors start to display first signs of senioritis after Spring Break. For some seniors, it started earlier.

“I have to admit, senioritis hit me back in February,” said senior Ardian Hoxhaj. “Once I realized that I got into my college of choice and got scholarships, I just told myself to keep my grades up and I’d be fine.”

Senioritis can become a comorbidity when paired with other extracurricular activities that a senior participates in during his second semester. Although these side pursuits were used as sources of motivation to be more productive during the school day in years past, spring sports and jobs have proven to be more like obstacles for seniors this year who try to get their schoolwork done on time. 

“When I fall behind on schoolwork, playing a sport just does not help the situation,” said senior Max Sextro. “Especially this year, my mindset has changed from ‘I need to get this done’ to ‘it’ll get done sometime soon.’”

The main symptom of senioritis tends to be procrastination, as motivation and sleep levels among seniors plummet with each passing week. Exhausted and struggling to make up for late work on top of newly assigned homework, many seniors find themselves turning to the one thing that keeps their minds working from the morning into the night: caffeine. 

“I was never a big coffee drinker until the beginning of this semester,” said senior Gavin Lawhorn. “Now, I rely on it to keep me up and get work done sometimes before school starts.”

Although it might seem apparent in the grade book, seniors are not the only ones who feel the negative effects of senioritis. Teachers of senior classes have felt the reverberations of senioritis as well, noticing a drastic change in their students. In some cases, classes can become difficult to teach, especially as AP tests appear on the horizon.

“It’s easy to teach when there’s a natural interest in the topic,” said science teacher Tim O’Keefe. “But I see that as my students get closer to graduation, they’re just thinking about college.”

These feelings are only natural and understandable, as both the teachers and the seniors have had a wonderful, yet difficult year to navigate together. Furthermore, if the teachers look back on the trials and tribulations they and their students have overcome over the past four years, they cannot help but feel some sympathy towards their diligent and hopeful students. 

“Having a senior at home, I can see firsthand how much time he and his classmates want to spend with each other,” said O’Keefe. “So, I try to work some fun activities into my class to keep my students interested and motivated.”

However, there is hope for these coming weeks, as not all seniors are plagued with this affliction. For some seniors, they are taking in the heat and stress of the moment to make each second they have remaining of high school count. Knowing that they will be departing from the halls of SLUH at the beginning of May, these seniors are not ready to give up just yet. 

“When I think of senioritis, I think of it as the feeling of being done with school and just wanting to leave this place, but I haven’t felt that feeling ever,” said senior Luke Brown. “I made such a home for myself at SLUH that I haven’t even felt the effects of senioritis that everyone is talking about.”

Regardless of how much senioritis has impacted their lives, all seniors can agree that they are meeting their wits end as they begin preparing themselves for a new stage in their lives.

“I am ready to leave all the homework behind,” said senior Liam Newbold. “But I’m just not ready to leave this place or my classmates yet.”