With less than two months left of the 25-26 school year, seniors at Aliso are excited for their last summer, causing them to care less about school. Seniors have been skipping classes and finding it hard to complete their assignments, both of which are common symptoms of senioritis.
Especially as these students are receiving their college admissions back and committing to their future, the motivation to succeed is not what it was in earlier years.
Senioritis is not necessarily negative. The students who are now seniors at Aliso have worked so hard over the past four years that they feel like they deserve a break from constantly worrying about every little detail and grade.
Sloan Lorenzo (12) said, “Honestly, senioritis mostly just causes me to stress less, so at times during this year it has been a positive.”
A lot of seniors feel the same way. They believe that they should enjoy their last few months with their friends by experiencing everything being a senior has to offer, which does not put a focus on schoolwork.
However, if students do plan to attend a university or another type of education after high school, the senioritis they experience now may hurt them in the future.
Mr. Lau, a physics teacher with seniors in his classes, said, “Once you get to college, you have a lot of free time. So if you haven’t kept up your good habits, it’s kind of hard to kick them back. I mean, it’s doable, but it’s just harder to restart it in college.”
Students need to build good study habits and get used to completing every assignment to the best of their ability because it will only be more difficult later on. High school students are preparing to go to college or join the workforce, which both require hard work without giving up on tasks.
As much as senioritis may be a good escape for seniors, they should try to fight against the mindset of being completely done with school.
Mr. Lau suggests, “Just think, big picture, just think ahead. I mean, easier said than done. You’re at the end of your 4 years, you feel like you can relax a little bit, but the point is to just kind of look ahead.”
There is a great life for Aliso students beyond graduation, and they should not waste the work they have put in for the rest of the time here in these last months.
Lorenzo adds, “To combat these feelings, I have been just trying to get good grades for myself and not give up.”
It is not easy to fight against the urge to take this time left to slack off with friends. Seniors work so hard, but there are ways they can prepare themselves for life after graduation while still having fun. One way is to think of themselves in the future and where they want to be.
Mr. Lau gives his closing advice to seniors, “Just kind of dream big. Like, if I want to be here, what small steps can I be doing now, right? So I guess if you can think of what you can be doing now, even if it’s not super intense, but at least just something to work on, then I think that’ll keep you from shutting off completely.”
