The term “senioritis” can be defined in many ways, depending on the person you ask, but it all ends up meaning the same thing. Senioritis is the lack of motivation, drive, or ambition that affects seniors once they reach their final semester in high school. This stems from the idea that the end is so incredibly near. Seniors feel as if they can almost taste graduation, which is why senioritis hits us like a ton of bricks.

Some seniors end up being more affected by the ravenous disease in comparison to others, but the one thing we can all agree on is that it affects each and every one of us in one way or another. When asked how senioritis affects him, Andrew Tarakji (’18) said, “It didn’t really hit me until I got into college, but now I’m just chillin’, livin’ the good life…well I was until I lost my car, but yeah.”

As you can probably already tell, college acceptances play a big role in how fast senioritis hits, but some argue that even without the acceptance letter, there is still a lack of motivation.

Spencer Easely (’18) described his senioritis by saying, “Even though I don’t know exactly where I am going yet, I don’t feel the burden or stress that I did at the beginning of the year and it feels great.”

Most high school students wait for the day where they no longer have to worry about grades or taking the SAT, but the wait process can be difficult. Reminiscing back to freshman and sophomore years, seniors remember the times they looked to their seniors full of envy.

As the final semester rolled around, Steven Abouchedid (’18) remembered his first thought as, “I shouldn’t have taken AP Chem, because then I would have even more time to play Nintendo Switch.”

Now of course there are still assignments due and all of us still have to show up for class, but there is a general consensus that most of us have simply lost interest in school. According to Cindy Jeantete, senior attendance has declined intensely throughout the second semester as many seniors fail to make it to their morning classes on time. She notes that this isn’t unusual as it happens every year and is unfortunately expected.

Even though senioritis is a common theme throughout the Webb campus, there are still expectations held for every senior. Unfortunately, some feel as if even though the stress has lightened, there is still pressure to perform. Jeffery Ran (‘18) said, “I mean, I already committed so I’m not stressed about the college part anymore, but the schoolwork is still annoying and I still can’t fall asleep without finishing my homework.”

Regardless of the pressure, most seniors are riding the senioritis wave until the end of the year. Most seniors can’t wait for graduation, with some like Sonia Malik (‘18) ripping off a post-it note as each day comes to a close.

Senioritis is a real thing; many suffer from it yearly and it seems to be getting worse as time goes on. If you are currently being affected by senioritis just know that you aren’t alone, and it’s almost over.