Senioritis – The Inescapable Illness that Infects 18 Year Olds

photo courtesy of istockphoto.com

photo courtesy of istockphoto.com

Eliana Posin, Journalist

In 2022, news outlets, social media, and newspapers are splattered with headlines consisting of “New Variant of COVID-19: Omicron infects millions of people!” Since COVID-19 reigns as the most infectious and devastating disease of 2021-2022, other illnesses tend to get overlooked. One of them, most common in young adults of 17 and 18 years old: the terrifying case of Senioritis. Putting it in perspective, COVID-19 and Senioritis are not even in the same realm of severity, but that doesn’t dismiss the existence of the heavily taxing Senioritis. 

 

Senioritis is a disease that infects seniors in high school. It can be caught at any time during the school year, but it typically strikes during the second semester, when college decisions start coming out. Although It varies from senior to senior. “The second I submitted my last college application and got accepted into my first college, was when I started feeling the effects of Senioritis.” Senior Natalie Moorhead said.  As students start envisioning their future at a school other than their own, they are most vulnerable to Senioritis. 

 

Symptoms are mostly mental but can have devastating results. “I have always been a straight-A student, but this year, I really lacked the motivation to maintain good grades,” shared a senior who prefers to remain anonymous. “I’ve been way more focussed on sports, and my head is elsewhere whenever I’m in school.” What separates Senioritis from typical time management and motivation issues, is the lack of guilt that accompanies the missing work and F’s on Schoology. “I just don’t really care anymore,” Moorhead adds, “if I don’t do as well on an assignment as I had hoped, I just think “Eh, doesn’t really matter.” 

 

As the second semester progresses and the senior’s inch closer to the end of their high school careers, they have found ways to combat the overwhelming effects of Senioritis. Treatments include getting help from counselors, making stricter routines, and getting together with other seniors struggling with the same issue. The positive aspect of Senioritis is that all infected students are immediately cured after June 8th. So, all of the seniors who have suffered the drastic drawbacks of this illness, hang in there, you’re almost done!