I am suffering from a terrible case of senioritis.
Google defines “senioritis” as a “supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance.”
This is true, but a more accurate definition would be “when your apathetic attitude about school turns you into a lazy excuse for a human—one so lazy that when you’re given an assignment two weeks in advance, you wait until 45 minutes before it’s due to even look at it.” (Sorry, professor who shall remain nameless.)
I used to roll my eyes at people complaining about having senioritis. I always chalked it up to pure laziness and a general character flaw. But now I’m in their shoes and completely understand.
The end of busywork and learning about topics in which I have no interest is so, so close. While the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter, my academic performance gets duller.
On Jan. 12, I was given an extremely lengthy assignment that’s due in two weeks. A semester or year ago, I would have completed this assignment already to get it out of the way. I haven’t even thought about the piece of paper since I promptly stuffed it in my backpack two seconds after it was handed to me. The only reason I remembered the crumpled piece of paper in the bottom of my backpack is because I started to write this article.
Last Wednesday, I was that student who showed up to class on test day and confusingly looked around and asked, “Oh, we have a test today?” (Sorry, different nameless professor.)
I’m generally an excellent student, but I have turned into the kind of student I used to dislike. My grades are still decent, but that’s only because 15 years of schooling and working for the Torch have taught me to crank out an assignment an hour before it’s due.
The behaviors my senioritis are causing (or preventing) only make me more stressed out and therefore more likely to lie in my bed watching “Gossip Girl” instead of working on the 12 assignments I have due next week. It’s a terribly vicious cycle. I can see how people become addicts or extreme procrastinators.
Not to mention, already having my post-graduation plans solidified makes the senioritis 10 times worse. My end goal has already been reached, so I feel like I deserve a break. Unfortunately, my professors obviously don’t feel the same way (and I don’t blame them).
The thing is, when May 6 rolls around and I am actually done with college forever (unless I go to grad school), I’ll probably be depressed and want to go back. But until that happens, I will likely still be plagued by extreme senioritis. To my professors, coworkers, group project partners, parents, friends and anyone in my general vicinity who hears me complaining all the time—please forgive me.
To read another Torch staff confession, click here.