Joseph Ferguson ’16

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Senioritis : a crippling disease that strikes high school seniors. Symptoms: laziness and a lack of studying, repeated absences, and a generally dismissive attitude. Is the only known cure known as graduation? I think not. There are other ways to conquer senioritis.

For seniors, planning ahead and scheduling are the keys to success. By making deadlines and due dates for yourself, you hold yourself accountable for your actions and helps with the usual laziness of senioritis. In this case, the best tool for this is a calendar or day planner. Write down all of your deadlines, for applications, papers, tests, and so on. Then note your other activities, your sports schedule, drama or band rehearsals, SAT or ACT day, or college visits. Then, map out what you have to do. To complete that English paper, when should you begin working on it? Say you have the lacrosse game you really want to go to the same night. Well, if you plan well and get it done the night before, you can be there to support the Crusaders!

Talking about it always help. Senior year can be sad and exhilarating at the same time. It is a sensitive time in our young adult lives, where we are making the transition from high school to college along with the transition into adulthood. This is the year some of us will last see each other, and it is sad to let people go. I’ve found that having a mentor who will be there for you to hold you accountable for your actions helps in the process of beating this disease. Your mentor can be anyone you know, who you know will push you to your academic limits. For example my personal mentor, my brother Craig, helped and motivated me to conquer senioritis and to be an all-around better version of myself, by being there for support with school work and a stern talking to once in a while. Useful people to talk to are your friends (who are going through the same things you are), your parents, your guidance counselor and other adults whom you respect.

Lastly, seniors will enjoy the year more if they conquer senioritis and the problems that come from not satisfying responsibilities. So once your senioritis is conquered and you have your head on straight, have fun your senior year. “I always encourage seniors to celebrate their senior year,” says the representative from Westmont College in Illinois. “They have worked a long time to get to this point and should do all they can to enjoy it.”