Senioritis
Bobby Smith '22 Staff Writer
The school year is more than halfway through, and for seniors this feels like the homestretch. Their last year of high school is approaching its end and for some it seems that the workload is already decreasing. Seniors may feel a lack of motivation to complete the assignments they do have, especially if they’re bigger projects that aren’t due immediately, and put it off for a later date. Their minds might wander as they put off their assignments, they might distract themselves playing games like “2048” or “Wordle” when they have an opportunity to work on these assignments, or they might go and do some other activity. This lack of motivation is often experienced by seniors once their final school year is halfway through, a condition commonly referred to as “senioritis.”
Senioritis is often referred to in a joking manner. Even the dictionary on Google refers to the noun as humorous and informal. However, a lack of motivation is no laughing matter. One’s grades could be drastically lowered if one neglects to do their assignments, or at the very least waits until the last minute and does the bare minimum of work. If one were to fail their classes due to senioritis, the feeling of being in the homestretch would be nipped in the bud as one would have to retake the classes they failed. As senior Lauren Hataway put it, “When you’ve worked so hard but fall behind at the last minute, all of those years are wasted.” That is how detrimental senioritis can be to a student’s academics. But how might one get rid of this lack of motivation or prevent it from setting in?
One way to prevent senioritis is to find the motivation to keep going through the school year and to perform excellently, as opposed to just doing the bare minimum. One can use numerous tactics to stay motivated. One tactic is to simply keep your eyes on the prize. Hataway advised, “Just know your final goal; know where you want to go, know where you are now, and know how much work you have to put in.” Having a goal in mind could greatly increase one’s overall motivation, but keep in mind that this goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Too broad of a goal won’t be satisfying because it could seem too easy or too hard to achieve depending on how you look at it. An impossible goal would only decrease your motivation because you wouldn’t be able to achieve it. Once you have a goal in mind that you can work towards, you may find yourself becoming more motivated both to complete this goal, and just in general.
Senioritis is often referred to in a joking manner. Even the dictionary on Google refers to the noun as humorous and informal. However, a lack of motivation is no laughing matter. One’s grades could be drastically lowered if one neglects to do their assignments, or at the very least waits until the last minute and does the bare minimum of work. If one were to fail their classes due to senioritis, the feeling of being in the homestretch would be nipped in the bud as one would have to retake the classes they failed. As senior Lauren Hataway put it, “When you’ve worked so hard but fall behind at the last minute, all of those years are wasted.” That is how detrimental senioritis can be to a student’s academics. But how might one get rid of this lack of motivation or prevent it from setting in?
One way to prevent senioritis is to find the motivation to keep going through the school year and to perform excellently, as opposed to just doing the bare minimum. One can use numerous tactics to stay motivated. One tactic is to simply keep your eyes on the prize. Hataway advised, “Just know your final goal; know where you want to go, know where you are now, and know how much work you have to put in.” Having a goal in mind could greatly increase one’s overall motivation, but keep in mind that this goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Too broad of a goal won’t be satisfying because it could seem too easy or too hard to achieve depending on how you look at it. An impossible goal would only decrease your motivation because you wouldn’t be able to achieve it. Once you have a goal in mind that you can work towards, you may find yourself becoming more motivated both to complete this goal, and just in general.