A lot of people think your junior year of high school is the hardest and once you get through it, you have a relaxing senior year to look forward to. Even though most people have the credits they need to graduate and don’t have to worry about as many required classes, senior year is not as easy as it’s cut out to be.

For one thing, you have to worry about making a plan for when you graduate and are forced into the real world. If you plan to go to college after high school you have to apply to colleges, apply for scholarships, and figure out where you want to go to school.

Despite all of the different kinds of decisions and anxieties seniors are facing, at one point we will all encounter the same challenge: senioritis. No, senioritis is not a disease but it can be crippling. Senioritis sucks the motivation out of seniors and leaves us wanting to do anything but work. Symptoms include procrastination, indifference, laziness, exhaustion, and lack of motivation.

This proves to be problematic because the one time you should be worried about your grades, extracurriculars, and doing well is your senior year! But let’s be real, we’ve been in school for 12 years and at this point, we’re completely burned out on homework and tests and we just don’t care anymore.

“Senioritis is real. Senioritis for me this year has been like a game of tug of war. I go from weeks on end not having the motivation to do work then going to having the motivation then completing like 20 assignments in one day. And by no means is having a job helping with that. But one of my main pushes to keep on going is being in color guard and marching band,” senior, Emily Page said.

Senioritis is a roller coaster, but having things to look forward to can help you stay motivated.

“For the one hard class I have, I’m researching a topic that I’m super interested in so it keeps me motivated. But I definitely think senioritis is a thing, I kind of lose motivation to do any work,” senior, Carson Gibbs said.

Engaging in activities (such as researching something you’re actually interested in for an assignment) can make all the difference when your senioritis starts to set in.

Despite our early on-set senioritis, there is hope. Both of my older siblings survived and I promise you will too. Just remember to have things to look forward to, especially when your senioritis gets bad. Even though senioritis sucks, we’re all in this together and it’s going to be ok! Just remember to make the most out of every day because graduation will be here before you know it.