Senioritis: a dangerous, even fatal phenomenon that is taking the lives of many. Senioritis can be defined in many different ways, but on a basic level, senioritis is a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school, characterized by a decline in performance or motivation.

Symptoms include: laziness, an over-excessive wearing of sweatpants, old athletic shirts, athletic shorts, and hoodies. Senioritis also features a lack of studying, repeated absences, and a generally dismissive attitude. The only known cure is… graduation.

Senioritis affects everyone differently, some more than others. However, we can all agree that everyone feels it one way or another. At this point in the second semester, seniors can practically taste graduation.

When asked how senioritis is affecting him, Nick Johnson (‘19) said, “I guess since I have offers to play sports in college and I applied to all my schools already, the anxiety of college and stress at Webb has disappeared. I know all I have to do now is just pass my classes. My senioritis is pretty bad.”

Seniors have gone through three-and-a-half grueling years here at Webb. Ever since freshman year, students have had one goal: to get into college. Now that the worst of it is over, the pressure is gone. All there is to do now is wait for those acceptances to come rolling in.

Joyce Yuan (‘19) said, “I do think that the one major goal of high school is to get into college and once that’s done, well most of the pressure to do well academically is gone.”

Claire Wagner (‘19) agreed with Joyce and said, “At Webb, your one goal is college, or drivers license, but most of everyone already has that. I leave campus every chance I get during free blocks and long lunch, but I still do the homework and class work to the best of my abilities. There really is no cure for senioritis. I feel like if a second semester senior isn’t motivated, there is no way to make them do the work.”

There is still a certain level of academic performance that seniors must comply to. For students who have obsessed over being admitted to college for months (if not years), it feels like the finish line, a time to collapse with exhaustion. However, there are still important aspects to attend to—maintaining good grades, staying out of trouble, and actually getting that diploma.

For those who have already gotten into college like Simon Dawson (‘19), he said, “For me, personally, I have lost my drive to work but I haven’t completely given up just because I’m too prideful to. I still want to end the year with good grades.”

Long term, there are a number of negative effects that can result from senioritis. Too often, seniors think their college admission fates are set and done after their acceptance letter arrives.

However, colleges are allowed to rescind their offers in the months after acceptance is granted if final grades do not align with the information in your application. These poor students may find that they lost their spot in their college.

Be careful out there. Enjoy second semester, but do not completely clock out.