Underclassmen always hear of the debilitating, exhausting disease that wipes out most of the senior class during their last year of high school, but they never truly believe it’s real, but it is. The disease, senioritis, is incredibly contagious and is more common among seniors this year, the first year after the Covid-19 shutdown the previous school year. Many seniors struggle to just get out of their cars in the morning to go into class. 

“Going to school this year is more difficult compared to last year’s because I’m able to drive myself instead of having to ride the bus [which] allows me to contemplate going into school or not,” senior Savannah Dillon said. “Also having a half schedule makes it harder because sometimes I don’t want to go to school just for one class period.”

To many underclassmen, this may seem like just laziness and exhaustion, feelings students in every grade experience. However, for seniors, it is much more abundant and much more apparent. For seniors, whether this disease exists or not isn’t even a question.

“Yea of course [it exists],” senior Grady McConnell said. “There is so much to do and so many pressures that the thing you have been doing since you were five seems insignificant.”

While no one doubts its existence, some don’t feel its effects as heavily yet, as the school year isn’t even halfway over. 

“It’s fair to say some people might not experience it, but there’s a lot of kids that definitely start to slack off and lose accountability with themselves towards the end of the year,” senior Jackson Miller-Lyman said. “I don’t think I’m experiencing it fully just yet.”

For those still not convinced, many of the symptoms show up in daily life in the forms of excessive drowsiness and refusal to complete assignments; it can be debilitating. 

“[I want] to say no to an assignment and just not do it so I can have a tiny break and enjoy myself instead of keep working nonstop,” McConnell said. 

The difficult classes, restricted schedule, loads of homework, college applications and more responsibilities are the key causes of this illness, and unfortunately for seniors, there is no cure. Some students have learned to live with it and do their best to counteract the strong urges to stay in bed, close the textbook or turn the car around. 

“Just do it,” McConnell said. “I don’t really view it as an option to do or not and that makes it easier because then the question is just when I am going.”

With the holidays fast approaching and college application deadlines coming up, staying motivated can be even more difficult, especially for those already taking college classes. Many students are excited for the next chapter of their education and lives to start, so high school feels more like a drag than usual. Miller-Lyman is one of those students who plans to go to AACC then a four-year university to get a master’s degree in Civil or Mechanical Engineering. But first, he has to get through the remainder of school and the holiday season.

“During the holiday, you’re more focused on spending time with your families and friends and enjoying life rather than school and work,” Miller-Lyman said. 

With one quarter down, seniors are counting down the days until the last day of school and their day to wear their cap and gown and receive that diploma.