Senioritis: How to Cope

It’s crazy to believe that we’re already halfway through the first semester. As the school year drags on, sometimes as students we can feel like we’re getting left in the dust, especially for seniors. “Going to every single class and doing their work, being so close to the end, motivation is just like out the window,” said senior Willim LaRock. There’s a term for that feeling of motivation seeming to disappear. It’s a condition commonly referred to as senioritis.

Did you know? Senioritis is actually defined in the dictionary. Merriam-Webster defines senioritis as “an ebbing of motivation and effort by school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences, and lower grades.”

What exactly is senioritis? Senioritis is a term used to explain when seniors begin to slack off in their work towards the end of the school year. When I interviewed a few seniors, I found that there was a pretty common thread in some of their answers. Although these students are all taking different classes, and have different experiences, every single one of them said they suspect that they’ll catch senioritis at some point this year. “It’s already hitting a little bit.  I mean I'm actually more on top of my grades then I have been for the past three years so [with] productiveness I'm actually doing better than before, but it's so much easier to get mentally and physically drained from it,” explained senior Celeste Hollis.

Mallorie Freitag can relate to that: “I think I caught [senioritis] within the second week of school.” 

A graduated senior, Aaviskar Khatiwada, who wrote a short opinion piece for the Review last year said that he felt the effects of senioritis as he wrote his article. I can confirm the irony of feeling a lack of motivation to write about lacking motivation.

Source: Planbook

There are a lot of factors that can lead to this lack of motivation, found especially in seniors. “Sometimes I struggle to understand,” explained Kamyra Dockery. “And when teachers and staff don't try to help, it makes it even more difficult. Then they just go ahead with other assignments or whatnot, it just makes everything so hard and [finding] motivation difficult.” 

The other problems sometimes come in with the workload itself. I’ve spoken to many of my fellow students about class loads, and people have often expressed that sometimes it seems like teachers forget that on top of the work from that class, we have 6 other classes we need to work on.

Of course, not all the blame is on teachers or assignments. Sometimes things happen, and that can kill your motivation. “Students typically have things going on outside of school and school takes 7 hours,” related Celeste. “And then they have to go home and do homework or if they have any extracurriculars or jobs. It's a lot. I mean typically I have 13 to 15 hour days in the peak of school because I'm a swimmer.” 

Students really do have a lot on their plates. So, they might as well just give up, since there’s nothing you can do, right? Absolutely not. “You're close enough to the end,” Will reminds us, “might as well finish it out.” 

Another thing I asked some seniors was what students (regardless of their grade level) can do to try and help them stay motivated. They all had great suggestions.

Celeste suggests that students find their boundaries, and work with them: “[Know] which way works best for studying, and how much sleep do [you] need to operate properly, how much free time do [you] need to make sure [you’re] not feeling overwhelmed.” She also suggests having some activity you can rely on to help you relax and take your mind off of things for a little bit.

Source: triOS College

Kamyra suggested that students should find friends who will keep them on track, especially people who you have classes with. She also says to ask for help, “I understand being scared to ask teachers [for help], and if you don't think your teacher will help you, then ask someone who you know will. It doesn't have to be your own teacher, so if [another teacher] knows what to do with that type of subject then go ahead and, you know, ask about that.”

Did you know? The advice to just keep going and push through works! Could you tell that this article was written in one school day? Senioritis doesn’t mean you can’t work, it just makes it harder, so don’t let it stop you!

If all else fails, remember Will’s admonition to finish it out. “Just wake up and kind of power through it.” Remember that you’re not going to be able to do everything all of the time, so don’t burn yourself out trying to do too much.

Speaking of which, for those who are starting to think about the classes they’ll take next year, what advice do the seniors have to pass on? 

First off, remember that regardless of whether or not you’re in honors, advanced honors, AP, or regular classes, you can still suffer from a lack of motivation. Keeping that in mind, just think about what’s worked for you in the past. When I asked Mallorie if she found herself more or less motivated by taking higher-level classes, she responded, “In a way, it's kind of both. I definitely feel motivated to do my work and be the best I can be, but at times the workload gets a little too much and I don't want to do it.”

Regardless of what you find to be a better fit for your classes, here’s a piece of advice that a senior told Will when he was starting the high school experience: “Suffer through sophomore and junior year, so that way senior year you have a really easy time.” 

That’s honestly the best advice anyone could give you. Work hard to get your credits, that way by the time you’re a senior, you can be like those who only have 3 or 4 required classes, and can have the rest of their schedule fitted to classes they’ll find fun

Back to the ever-important issue of helping people to find more motivation, there’s one group that can help students significantly: Teachers. I asked my group of seniors what they thought teachers could do to help. 

“I want to say, you know, less work but I feel like teachers could give less assignments. Well not necessarily give less assignments, but like, give it in better increments,” Kamyra told me. Agreeing with the point I made before, she continued, “I feel like teachers who give assignments every day just make it more stressful for students and makes it harder for them to stay motivated cause they’re constantly getting work, and that's adding on to what work they already have throughout the day from other teachers.”

Adding on to that thought, Celeste said, “[If] someone is having a real hard time with deadlines, maybe being able to offer a couple of extensions--for select assignments obviously not for everything.” 

Of course, teachers need to be helpful and understanding of students' situations, but there is such a thing as being too accommodating. “If every teacher catered to each individual student and how to keep them motivated, nothing would get done,” explained Will. He’s correct. After a certain point, the responsibility falls on the student.

So, what’s the takeaway? Students, know your limitations, make sure you make time to relax, and don’t let fleeting motivation stop you from graduation. Teachers, make sure you’re working with your students on keeping them motivated to the best of your ability, and be mindful of other things they have going on. So, to the graduating class of 2023 (myself included), I say good luck, and hopefully senioritis won’t wipe you out.

If you made it to the end of this article, have a close-up of my friend from the thumbnail image. While the other students were working, he decided to stare straight at my camera. Thanks for that, Nico.