A giant weight lifted from their shoulders as they realized the next two months of high school were insignificant compared to the last few years spent keeping immaculate grades and building an extensive resumé. Knowing that a life after high school was waiting for the graduating class made them wonder if keeping up the same dedication and hard work was really more important than slacking off and just enjoying the beautiful spring of senior year.
“After winter break, I lost interest in school,” senior Kate Harline said. “I only wanted to go to [school to] see my friends. I zoned out of the learning part in all of my classes. After getting into [Washington University], I couldn’t justify trying as hard as I had been when I didn’t have anything to work towards anymore.”
An adverse effect of “senioritis,” the name given to this phenomenon, is losing dedication for making exemplary grades. Some let their grades fall as they succumb to this “sickness”. However, a lucky few manage to fight off the symptoms and hold fast to their diligent habits.
“I think everyone feels like they have senioritis, but the people I hang out with still care about their grades, and so I think we’ve all kept each other on track,” senior Maggie Washer said. “I’m not the type of person who can just let everything go, so I’ve kept my grades up, but I’ve gotten really good at doing the bare minimum and just scraping by.”
For those not so lucky, the drive to do schoolwork and concentrate during class no longer seemed like a priority when the realization hit that the constant faces around them since grade school would no longer surround them as seniors took separate paths towards different futures. The need to break the high school cliché of conformity became sorely obvious as they learned to appreciate individuality.
“Realizing I won’t see 90 percent of the people I’m around ever again has made me less self-conscious and more outgoing overall,” senior Drew Floyd said. “I’m also treating high school less like a place to learn and more like a solely social setting.”
Senior year, although stressful because of all of the choices ahead, is a time for seniors to reminisce about how far they have come. While the spring brings Harline, Washer and Floyd relaxation and enjoyment from knowing where they are going after graduation, regardless of whether or not they let senioritis affect them, all are looking forward to the one month of school that remains.
“I don’t stress as much over grades, and I can just spend my time enjoying what’s left of my high school career,” Floyd said. “I’ve met so many amazing people this year at Rock Bridge that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to know if [I had] been more reserved.”
By Marissa Soumokil, Morgan Nuetzmann and Rachel Kiehne
