As of the writing of this article, I have four hours to start and finish the first two pages of an essay assigned a week ago in my CIS Writing class. Why haven’t I started it yet?

It’s the same reason I haven’t started preparing for a two-minute speech I have to give in Engineering, Design, and Development (known as EDD by those unfortunate enough to be enrolled in the class).

It’s the same reason I haven’t started on my Physics homework or studied for my upcoming test.

It’s the same reason I haven’t been working on my college applications.

Senioritis.

Every year, this disease affects all seniors. It is characterized by a lack of motivation to do anything related to school and the urge to stay home and catch up on all the sleep lost during junior year.

As one anonymous Blaine High School student put it, “I’ve always been pretty lazy, but this year I’ve taken it to a whole new level.”

So what can be done to prevent it or at least treat it?

Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for senioritis. However there are ways to lessen some of its most painful symptoms. As we all know, school can be dull sometimes, but taking classes that we find interesting naturally makes the homework seem like less of a chore.

To all current juniors: choose your electives wisely. Don’t pick classes just because they sound easy. Pick them because they seem interesting. To all seniors, make the most of your classes. While economics may seem boring, defrauding investors is an important life skill that you wouldn’t acquire anywhere else.*

Another way to motivate yourself is to remember that colleges are heartless and unforgiving, and will not hesitate to rescind their acceptance of students. So if you happen to be an admissions officer, just disregard the first four paragraphs of this article.

Don’t stress too much though. Enjoy senior year. You only get to experience it once (unless you enjoy it a little too much). Go out and meet new people! Try new things! Live your dash!

*Important Note: Defrauding investors is not included in the economics curriculum at Blaine High School, and I assume it is not included anywhere else