The Guide to Beating Senioritis

We’re back in a new school year, and if you’re anything like me, then you’re dreading the next ten months.

Many of us are experiencing the beginning of “senioritis,” or in my case, the “Junior Slump.”

The finish line to high school is closer than it's ever been, and most of us – despite our wonderful faculty’s efforts to make our high school experience fun and memorable – are thrilled to reach graduation.

As upperclassmen, we are now tasting our introduction to adulthood.

Many of us have licenses or permits, have jobs, our own money, our own responsibilities, and have the means to do what we please.

With that comes more burdens on our shoulders as expectations grow higher.

We must balance classes with loads of homework while working late nights, or attending sports practice, or a dreaded mix of the three. We must make our postgraduate plans and answer that age old question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

It sometimes feels like the expectation is to study, study again, then study some more with time we don’t have.

We have the responsibilities of adults and the limitations of children. It’s a thin boundary that becomes more infuriating and ridiculous by the day, which I have found in myself and many others to be one of the worst parts of the high school experience.

How do you uplift and convince yourself to find grades important, when you’re finally learning what it’s like to have other pressures and experiences in life that aren’t centered on school?

This mindset is a dangerous one. It not only takes a toll on your performance, but also muddies the clear sight of the future ahead. Some of us might not even know what our goals are just yet, as this is the stage in our lives where we might be second guessing our decisions, reconsidering our dream majors, or maybe we don’t even know what happens next.

If this resonates with you, this writer has been experiencing the same, and I want to share some words I’ve found helpful in finding my motivation for school once again.

The first and most important; remind yourself that you do not have to have everything figured out right now: Even seniors!

Sometimes keeping up grades, participating in extracurriculars, and finding those volunteer hours to add a little gleam to your high school transcript, despite not having a clear end goal in sight, will still help you.

Staying on track, even when you can’t see why it might be important now, can be beneficial later on if your future self decides to apply for National Honor Society (or dares to aim for an Ivy League!)

Maybe you have no interest in secondary education beyond high school, but what if you don’t say the same in ten months? Performing at your best will allow you the ability to make that decision later, instead of making that choice now by putting yourself on a narrow and limited path.

Intertwine your interests with your classes and extracurriculars! You’ll feel motivated to work harder if your activities and chosen classes align with your hobbies. For me, that includes our literary magazine The Flame, our Spanish Club, and especially the new addition of the Olympian Current. For others, this might mean joining the History Club, theater, band, or choosing a semester class that challenges and excites you. Seniors who are in their last year should try to experience new things just to do so! It’s the last year of high school, and you might have fun trying something you’ve never thought of before.

And very importantly, stay healthy. Keeping your body happy keeps your mind happy. It isn’t just something our health classes teach because it’s a graduation requirement; the benefits of being active, sleeping well, and eating well are scientifically studied to have great impacts on our minds. Even a brisk thirty minute walk a day after school can be meditative and energy boosting. Everyone should take one week to exercise a little before or after school, go to bed early, drink water instead of energy drinks, and maybe have oatmeal for breakfast instead of a sugary cereal. Notice the difference in your mood that

Sophia Rogan 10th Junior

Sophia Rogan 10th Junior

follows. Exercise relieves stress, sleeping well will nurture your overworked teenage brain, and eating well makes you feel good mentally and physically.

The last and final word of advice I received from a dear friend. While writing this article, I quickly realized that I only have the perspective of a rising junior, not a senior. Seniors are experiencing an even worse kind of exhaustion, and my words might feel more targeted towards a junior than my older peers. So I asked a post graduate student from the class of 2024 what she would say to the seniors who are now in her former position. She says this; “It feels like the end of the world, but it isn’t. Grades can slip and grades can be fixed. Take the help you are offered, even when you think you can handle it on your own.”

High school is almost over. In a year or two, if you’re not already, you’ll be an adult. It might be tempting to give into senioritis now, but you won’t regret giving yourself one more push. Keep working, keep repeating, keep yourself healthy, and by the end of this you’ll have a graduation cap and a diploma. No matter what your future will entail, high school is a requirement that everyone goes through once in their lives; so you can choose to hate it and blow it off, or excel and succeed so you never have to go