Senioritis. A term defined as an affliction of high school or college seniors, characterized by a decline in motivation or in their performance. Literally everyone is affected by senioritis. Even underclassman who have two or three years before graduation day are affected by this "crippling disease." In an effort to finish out high school strong, and not be affected by the "pandemic" that is seniorititis, here are some of my "go-to" tips of advice:
Plan ahead.
By now, you know what activities you'll be involved in throughout the year, and how your afternoon schedule will look. Take the time to plan ahead. College applications are quickly approaching. College itself is coming faster than I'd actually like to admit. You want to spend as much time with your friends as humanly possible. Fitting all of this in and still managing to keep your grades up can be incredibly difficult. So plan ahead. Become best friends with a calendar or with a planner. Take it with you everywhere. Write down deadlines for tests, projects, essays, applications, anything that requires being in turned in by a certain day/time, write it down. Then write down other activities like college visits, your work schedule, SAT/ACT days, football games. Once you've done that, start mapping out what you need to do to finish these tasks on time. Spanish project due Tuesday? When should you start working on it to legitimately have it done in time? Plan to finish all assignments days in advance! By doing this, you'll be ahead of the game and come out victorious because you won't be pulling an all nighter hoping to get it done in time.
Do not obsess.
Let's be real: college planning is stressful. It's incredibly easy to get caught up in all things college admission and forget about everything here at home. And although college is important, don't spend your entire senior year obsessing about it. Commit to the activities you absolutely love and drop the ones you love to hate. Focus more on being a good student and not overworking your brain. In actual reality, "going about the business of being a good student and good citizen, making choices for the betterment of your brain, body, and spirit often offers more benefit for college admission than some plan to impress college admission officers," says the director of admissions at Oberlin College (OH). So again, do things you love and nothing else, because you really just don't have the time to be a part of activities you don't even enjoy.
Talk about it.
Senior year is full of all kinds of emotions. It's an incredible thrill and can be utterly depressing all at the same time. You have a list of all the "lasts" -- last first day, last football game, last spirit week, last prom. Yet you also can wait for the moment when your name is called and you walk across that stage to receive your diploma and to begin the life of college. Remember the scene in The Wizard of Oz, where Scarecrow is like "part of me is over there and part of me is over here"? This is how it feels being a senior. There's this fear of leaving high school, but an incredible sense of joy to start the next chapter. Talk about your feelings with friends who have already walked through this, with parents, counselors, and teachers alike.
Have fun.
You're only a senior in high school once. So have fun! Make all the moments, from the "insignificant ones" to the major ones, count, and enjoy every single last. You've worked hard to get here and deserve to enjoy every second of it.
