Usually around this time of the school year, a new epidemic takes control over a grand majority of seniors around the world, including Hawthorne High School. This epidemic is best known as “senioritis,” and symptoms include lack of studying, indifferent attitude towards studies, and repeated absences. Students start to believe that since there are only six months of school left in their high school career, they can start slacking off and spend more time with friends. Since some have already been accepted to college and have figured out their post high school plans already, “senioritis” can be seen as a legitimate excuse in the eyes of those students.

In efforts to find current students who might have “senioritis” and might be willing to share their thoughts and experiences, we reached out to Hawthorne High School student David Zheng. “To be honest, I started feeling symptoms freshman year, but it truly hit me in the beginning of senior year. I just want to enjoy the last year of high school. It definitely isn’t worth it to slack off since we do not want to put all of the hard work we put in throughout high school so far to waste.”

We also asked current Hawthorne High School student Ronny Pena about his thoughts on “senioritis.” “Yes I would definitely say I have “senioritis.” It all started after I received my first college acceptance letter from Rutgers University in mid December. I feel like as soon as we get accepted and start figuring out what we plan on doing in our future, our work here is done.”

If you are currently a senior and are having trouble with “senioritis,” remember to keep the following notes in mind. Maintaining a good work ethic throughout your senior year will make the transition to college much easier. Stay organized by creating daily or weekly checklist of your school activities, homework, tests, etc. to keep yourself focused and on task. Take into account urgency and importance when prioritizing your responsibilities. Many students get used to smaller work loads and find it difficult to make the switch back to studying and doing homework daily when the time comes.

Keeping the previous notes in mind, future seniors can lessen the effects of “senioritis” on their academic endeavors and better prepare themselves for the work that lies ahead. Senior Erika La Monaca was asked to offer her advice to incoming seniors on ways to keep them motivated throughout the entire school year. “Although it may be difficult for us to reduce our “senioritis,” I advise students if they are feeling these symptoms to keep in mind that if we start slacking off during the end of the year, our college acceptances could be renounced. We should try our best to stay motivated and keep our end goals in mind.”