Makayla Bogle
Staff Writer
Senioritis is characterized as the decreased motivation towards studies displayed by students who are nearing the end of their high school, college, or graduate school careers. The class of 2022 has spent close to a year and a half of their high school education participating in virtual classes and distance learning.
Seniors of previous classes spoke of a lack of motivation near the end of senior year, however the class of 2022 has dealt with years of inconsistent schooling due to Covid-19. The question as to whether or not this affects the amount of motivation seniors have for the second semester persists.
“For the past two years we were out because of Covid, and now we’re back. It’s just different and I’m still having to adjust to a routine,” senior Jack Logan said.
Distance learning has both its pros and cons, however, one lasting effect that many students still deal with today is a lack of motivation, incentive, and attention. Trying to pull through the last semester of high school was difficult enough before Covid-19, and many senior classes in the past complained of senioritis, however, it seems to be even more difficult to push through this year.
Many seniors have to balance making important plans for their futures or working on college applications and decisions with staying focused on current school work. When adding in lack of motivation it makes sense that students would be burnt out.
“Senioritis exists in college too. When you find out that you have all of your credits already, you’re ready to graduate, and you’re done it’s like, ‘well why do I need to do anything else?’” social studies teacher Anouxa Vixathep said.
Luckily, there are some incentives that help to motivate seniors despite all of the changes endured in the past couple of years. Everybody chooses a different path after high school, some will go to trade schools, or continue their education at a community college, while others will go on to work right out of high school. Some seniors plan to go out of state at universities, or continue their sports in college, and others may take a gap year to travel or work.
Seventy-one percent of surveyed seniors feel as though their post-high school plans positively impact their motivation. For some however, their senioritis is only increased by their senior plans, as they are so excited to move on that it is hard to get through the last few months.
Senioritis may be either relieved, or agitated by a senior’s future plans. For some, they may miss high school as students get to see their friends, play sports, and learn without worrying about costs.
“I want to be done, but I know I’ll miss it. I’m mainly going to miss seeing my friends every day. It’s just difficult to stay focused right now since I only have a couple core classes that I actually need to be here for, all of the others are not needed,” senior Jackson Boyles said.
Many seniors feel the same, knowing that certain aspects of high school will be missed while still trudging along through their daily scheduled classes. Luckily, events like prom, spring sports, Doernbecher, decades, and the senior all night party can help to refresh students of same daily routine.
“Senioritis won’t go away, every generation has it, every class has it, and it’s honestly worse in college. Having said that though, as you get closer to graduation at the end of the year you realize you’re going to be gone and you’re going to miss high school,” Vixathep said.
The Pioneer Press 