Senioritis: The Struggles of Senior Year

Seniors at Lind-Ritzville High School are suffering greatly, and are struggling to cope with Senioritis as the school year comes to an end. Senioritis is diagnosed when students constantly wear sweats, sweatshirts, track shorts, and slippers to school, and lack interest in doing school work or filling out scholarship applications. It usually begins to be evident that a senior has hit Senioritis after the fourth quarter of the school year has started, and the end of the tunnel is finally visible. A representative from Westmont College described Senioritis perfectly. He said, “Remember in The Wizard of Oz when Scarecrow said, ‘part of me is over there and part of me is over here’? That’s how seniors feel.” Seniors couldn’t agree more.

Four senior class members were interviewed and asked about how they are feeling at this point in the school year, and what Senioritis has done to them. Lara Tice-York said that she is excited for graduation and, “it can’t come soon enough.” She finds waking up, getting to school on time, and studying the hardest things to find motivation for. Sydney Nelson said that the hardest things for her are school work, waking up in the mornings, and working on scholarship applications. She also said that she is feeling nostalgic because the time has gone by so fast. “I mean, it’s already been four years! Four years is a long time,” Nelson said. Many of the seniors in the high school are overwhelmed with their loads of school work, sports activities, work, scholarship applications, and getting registered and ready for college. Nicholas Quintana said that he is scared for life after high school, and that he is overwhelmed with the senior project that is required for graduation this year. Ryan Whitmore said that he feels as if he is just, “going through the motions.” He is excited to go to college where his classes will be tailored to him, and therefore be more interesting. The short amount of time the seniors have left, of the only life they’ve ever really known is constantly in the back of their minds. They wish time would slow down, while at the same time being anxious for the time to go by faster to start a new life. Most seniors at Lind-Ritzville High School are currently in the stage of Senioritis when they look back on the year and realize how much fun their high school experience has been, and wishing they could go back in time to relive those moments. This stage is when seniors realize how they should’ve appreciated the time they had, more than wishing the days away.

These four seniors were also asked to share some advice with younger students to help them avoid, or make it through, the terrible illness that is Senioritis. Nelson advises, “don’t wish your time away, because it’ll go by fast.” Whitmore said, “Enjoy being here and your time with the people around you because it won’t always be here.” Quintana tells younger class members to, “listen to music” to stay calm and reduce stress that comes with your senior year.

Tice-York said, “Graduating is definitely worth it!” All four seniors also added that putting assignments off or waiting until the last minute to finish projects is not a good idea and that it’ll come back to bite you in the end. They tell students to not procrastinate and enjoy every minute!

While Senioritis is a serious and dangerous condition, all the seniors are fighting through to make it to graduation.

They realize that they are grateful for their teachers, for all they’ve been taught, and for these priceless years they have spent in such a loving community and school district. They are excited to begin a new chapter of their lives and gain some new memories.