The season known as senioritis is upon us as the young and brilliant twelfth graders of Hamilton High School prepare for their futures. As many high school students may already know, there is a lot of unnecessary stress and pressure to complete everything perfectly, especially as seniors’ high school careers come to an end.

The frustration of starting college applications, asking for recommendation letters, having a pristine transcript, and passing each final are all expected. However, it’s the intention and mindset you set for yourself that will make all the effort worth it in the end. 

Senioritis is a much discussed topic here at Hamilton. Every day in the hallways, students complain and worry that they are under the mysterious ‘senior spell’. If you think the expression is interesting you would be surprised to find out it has its own dictionary definition. The Oxford Language Dictionary describes senioritis as “a supposed affliction of students in their year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance.”

Even though you may not have the most difficult classes or tasks to finish, a lack of motivation and discipline plays a huge role when it comes to this rut. Senioritis is not exactly real– but it is an idea you can accidentally make your reality.

Humanities senior Jordinae Sells struggles with what you may not think could be a cause to this illness for twelfth graders, but adds a relief for students that may feel the same.

 “Being a senior I don’t have many serious classes which makes it harder to come to school and that affects my grades, not just my attendance,” Jordine said.

With prom and grad nite being around the corner, this adds a whole new wave of emotion to the academic stress and despair of the senior class.

SAS senior Audrey Flores said she had trouble staying focused on anything, fun or not.

“I can’t even think about buying a prom dress when my FAFSA form is not completed,” Audrey said. 

The big events of senior year can cause additional stress to students who are already feeling pressure.

Humanities senior Joseph Hernandez said the cost of grad-nite was on his mind.

“Who’s gonna pay all that money to go?” said Joseph. “But I’ll still be attending.”

There are numerous steps and precautions to take to avoid senioritis before even entering twelfth grade, but self motivation is the absolute key. 

Remaining focused and mentally sane through the circus of senior obligations is another thing you can do. Starting off the semester with a clean, organized planner helps structure your study time, college duties, important meetings, senior events, and especially your self-care time. Time management may not be the easiest skill to develop, but it will reduce the  suffering caused by piles of unfinished work. Organization can even reduce stress around purchasing tickets for senior events.

ELL counselor Marcela Perez has seniors that come in and out of her office every day with a load of stress from these last final months.

“Students overall getting to class, also motivation affects senioritis for the ones that are very behind,” Ms. Perez said.

Although it is still fresh into the second semester for the class of 2024, there are lots of challenges and amazing memories to unfold. The idea of having the perfect senior year is unrealistic, just soak up every second of it and just enjoy.