BY EMILY HARRISON / KALAMALAMA STAFF WRITER
Are you struggling with senioritis? Does the thought of freedom, so close, discourage you from wanting to do any work? Are you an underclassman experiencing the symptoms of senioritis? Don’t worry loves I got you.
What is Senioritis?
First off, many adults who’ve been out of school for a while will try to tell you that senioritis is not a real disease, or infliction.
They can think that all they want. Many people think ADHD or OCD are not real inflictions either. Good for them for not having it or staying in denial.
I know plenty of students, some of them not even seniors, who struggle with senioritis.
It may have once bene a made-up term, and it may have once been used as a way to shame seniors for not giving their best for their last year. But, unfortunaltely it’s become all too real.
These symptoms you’re feeling are real. And doesn’t that make it so much worse?
It’s not a depressional funk, and it’s not an anxiety driving curse. It’s simple, and complicated. It’s kind of pathetically tragic.
Senioritis is, in simple terms, your lack of ability to do work. That is, all motivation to do schoolwork, has vanished. It’s gone. You can see the light of gradation, of your last assignment being turned in and you walking away, whether or not you were proud of that work. It’s so close, but yet, it’s the beginning of the school year. Graduation day is so far.
As a senior, I can relate to being told, “this is your final year, this is where you push and strive,” and I’m thinking in my head, “man I’m not even listening to you, my push and strive stopped sophomore year.”
Cause it did. At this point I’m not pushing or striving. I’m clawing and trying to survive. Luckily for me, which I know is not the case for many of you, I made my senior year super easy. Most of my classes revolve around my minor.
Those include reading other people’s work, writing my own, and collecting other people’s writing work.
I get to judge for my senior year. Ha.
Anyway, let’s start to discuss some ways to help fight off senioritis.
How do I fight it?
People are different, they just are. And some people fight this with a number of different strategies. The best way to recover from senioritis is to graduate. Obviously. But there are ways to help dull the effects of senioritis, and maybe you’ll find some of these ways more effective than others, and you’ll be able to completely dull out the senioritis.
But no matter what you must find a way to deal with the senioritis, otherwise it will spread. And by that, I mean it will take over everything. You will not be able to recover from it, and it may result in you failing your senior year and having to retake it. Keeping you in school for yet another year.
And some of us don’t have the patience, time, or money for that. So, if you let your senioritis overtake your work ethic completely, you may be altering a big part of your life. And it is most likely, not for the better.
Now, let’s get into our first strategy.
Reward systems – now you may want to do further research in what reward systems may work for you. I personally choose breaks as my reward systems. I used to choose snacks. But even video games, time on your phone, cleaning, reading, drawing, anything can be a reward, but don’t abuse it.
It’s good to keep yourself in check, but it’s also good not to punish yourself with straight work. All of the things below could be considered rewards. But there are many different systems out there, just keep your head up. if you don’t want to search for more reward systems, then try out theses options.
Mediation– I know a lot off people with mock this strategy, but you shouldn’t mock if you haven’t tried. You don’t have to do the full bendy-yoga-thing, but find a way to get comfortable, a way to breathe under control and take yourself out of the world, it’s a great way to destress, and sometimes that’s the best cure for senioritis, destressing.
Short breaks– I’m all one for taking breaks, but I am also one to take a break and if I accidentally cross that line of “too long” I won’t go back to my work, all motivation is completely gone. So, instead I take a break yes, but I stay off my phone, unless I set a timer for five minutes. I spend so much time on TikTok and it dulls my motivation. So instead with those five minutes I play a game, no noise.
If I am not on my phone, I’ll take about a twenty-minute break, where I do something, a task that helps declutter my mind. Such as the dishes or prepping for the next day. Some may even take a shower or clean a bigger part of the house.
Whatever it is you do, for a short break, I do not recommend going over thirty minutes, and I also do not recommend that break involve short videos like TikTok.
This is only because they are addicting, and the feeling of going to the next video restarts your attention span, and only when you lose your attention span on the videos can you go back to being able to do work.
Long breaks– some of us may work better with longer breaks. I know I do not, but not everyone is hardwired the same. After all, we learn different, why not recover different. Taking long breaks can mean doing some work in the morning, going out during the day to enjoy some time outside, out with your friends, get a long meal, and then go back to work in the evening when you get home. Sometimes completely flushing your system from the schoolwork is what’s best.
Naps– now this definitely doesn’t work for me, but it does for my roommates. I’m the kind of person who will nap and never recover. It takes me too long to wake up and then I can’t sleep at night, and it ruins my next day of studying. But those who can recover from a nap should definitely try this. After all, what’s a better refresher than sleep? Taking a short nap, less than two hours, should really help restart your attention span, as well as your energy levels.
Food– food is a great recovery item. I don’t care if it’s a meal, snack, dessert, beverage. Something along those lines is one of the best ways to recover your system. Not only do you supply your body with energy, but you also give yourself a reward-like break. Some people do eat while they study, and this can cause you to associate food with a certain subject, which may help or may hurt you.
In my experience, taking a food break is one of the best ways to regather yourself.
Change of scenery– this is something that is hard for some of us to do but may end up being a necessity. Sometimes when we’ve bene in bed, at school, or the library all day. Everything we look at brings out the senioritis in us. So, getting up, moving, and changing locations, may be the best thing for you. I don’t mean switch seats, side of the bed, or classrooms. I mean going outside, going to a completely different area, a completely different part of the house. Anything that doesn’t look the same or doesn’t feel the same. After all, if you’re feeling cooped up, you got to escape.
What if I tried these strategies?
Well, I don’t know what to tell you. Good luck, I guess.
I’m kidding.
Let’s take it step by step.
For my fellow HPU sharks, we are in Hawaii. There are so many things, free things, that we can do to take our minds off of school and take our bodies out of the work.
We all should have access to the bus, so therefore, we can travel the island. Yes, it’s slower than most cars, and it’s not always safe, but as long as you’re traveling in the day, or better yet, not alone, then this is a good option for travel. We are surrounded by beaches. We are surrounded by hiking trails, and art exhibits. We are surrounded by botanical gardens and museums.
Go outside and do something, make your trip out to Hawaii, or your adventure in college, a story worth telling. Go experience what this island has to offer, and make sure you appreciate it.
As my dad tells me all the time, “you’re doing what most people only dream about doing.” And he’s right, I’m in school, in Hawaii. I am doing a once and a million thing right now, so for my fellow students doing such an extraordinary thing, go take advantage of it.
Make school worth it. It’s hard enough to focus on a major you’re unsure about, or if it’s incredibly difficult, go make life worth living, and maybe then, school will be less of a weight, and more of an amazing opportunity you’ve been given.
Take your mind completely out of school one weekend. Go indulge in the waters of the pacific, go eat the fruits of the land, go enjoy the music of the people, go be a college kid, in college. Go have fun and do what makes you happy. Go read in the park, go to a party with your friends, go snorkel with the waves, go cook out on the beach.
Believe it or not, this may be a great way of mediations. Meditation doesn’t have to be silence and relaxation, it can simply be a recharge, and if these help you recharge, then meditate.
But some words of caution, like anything, too much is dangerous. remember you aren’t escaping from school, you’re healing your mind, body, and a little bit your attitude. Don’t overdose, don’t lose your line in the sand, and most importantly, remember what you’re working for.
It’s okay to relax, recharge, step back for a moment. But you are still a college kid. You still have work to do. And whether or not you believe it, you got this.
Stay grounded.
What can I do to motivate my friends out of this funk?
I’ll be straight forward on this. I don’t know you’re friends, I don’t know what they like or what they are like. But you do. So, the best I can do is give you some pointers. It’s up to you to better motivate them.
I know motivating others to do something fun can actually be difficult sometimes. They have a hundred excuses, and the energy of a sloth, but we all have our motivations to do something.
I know talking to your friends about the project at hand isn’t always the best idea. I know when I get told about a project, especially one I already knew about, it makes me nauseated honestly. I can’t help but think, “please, don’t talk to me, just go away.”
Don’t be that person to your friends.
Make them go out and do one of the things listed above, be the person who helps make life easier, especially school.
But, if they haven’t done a project that is due super soon, and they just simply have no motivation, here is a tactic you should try:
Breaking it down.
Take your homework/project and break it down. Step by step. First things first, then build from there.
If it’s broken down, it isn’t as intimidating anymore. Not many of us want to face intimidation head on.
For example, take the assignment one part at a time. One question at a time, then move on with something else. Make it so the assignment isn’t a whole, it’s only little sections, things to check off a list.
Do you need to write a ten-page paper? Let’s focus on a section, and then we can take a break, and remember that one section is done, and continue from there.
No matter the paper or assignment, as long as you pull off its intimidation mask, the senioritis is less affective.
I also recommend doing group assignments when you can. Bouncing off ideas, such as, “oh I interpreted it like this, or this means this…” Although no one wants to be told their interpretation of something is wrong, it’s nice to have some further explanation towards an assignment, so, when you are alone later, you know you have a further indication of what you are doing.
Overall, it is up to you, you know your friends best. But the key guidelines to follow are breaking down the assignment, and making sure they understand the assignment, even if you aren’t directly explaining it to them.
What if I simply just don’t care anymore?
Well, I hate to break it to you, but you have to care. You have to find it within you to care. I know it’s hard. I know it sucks. But this is your last year. Even if you don’t like your major anymore, at least you’ll have it if you finish.
This is your last year. Everything you’ve worked so hard for, suffered so long through, traveled so far towards, it comes down to this. No matter how easy no matter how hard the year is. This. Is. It.
Once this is done, you are DONE.
Keep pushing. You got this.
