April issue 2018 by jcredblack

Excuses, excuses...

Head to Head

Sidney Johnson

Is “senioritis” legit?

lright, first things first, let’s establish that senioritis is nothing but an excuse used by people who don’t want to do their school work. Now, I totally get not wanting to be at school and not wanting to your homework, but being a senior doesn’t make things any more challenging than the years prior. Knowing that the things are coming to an end, it’s tempting for seniors to get this mind-set, wanting an easy way out. Seniors have this sort of mentality that since they have almost served their full sentence behind the bars of high school, their brains are are mush and they should be entitled to doing less. Some say that school can be just as time consuming and important as a job. Usually, the student you are at school reflects on your work ethic. But unlike school, a career usually doesn’t have an ending after four years. Students who like to slack off are usually the ones who like to use the senioritis excuse. I am a senior myself, so I totally get wanting to be done and never looking back, but you have to power through and finish strong! Some people think that senioritis can be related to the anxious feeling regarding the next big milestone. A 2011 study in the Journal of School Health recorded some cases where students feel so much anxiety with the stress of going to college and taking the next big step in life, students react by acting out and are more frequently truant. Some students fear such a big change and never make it to college. However, this study is not a proof that senioritis is true condition in any way. According to The National Institution of Mental Health 6.3 million teenagers have an anxiety disorder. With high anxiety being common among teenagers there is no way to determine that the anxiety is completely related to the worries of the next step. So quit the excuses, y’all. Do or, hey, don’t do your homework, but don’t blame it on “senioritis” because it’s not a thing and neither teachers nor parents will sympathise with you.

Some monsters ARE real! Matt LeCure

enior year: a time of change, growth, and loss of any and all energy you still have. The suffix “itis” is used to complete a word representing an illness. The phrase “senioritis” describes a jolt of fear, stress and depression that occurs to students during their last year of high school. Some people think of it as just a joke, but I am here to tell all the naysayers that senioritis is a really big deal. As a senior, I know how real senioritis is. The first symptom of senioritis is stress for the future. It’s your final year of high school, and you are living in the last moments of your childhood. You are starting to think about college, your potential career, and so much more. It can be slightly or incredibly stressful. After you get stressed out about the future, it is time to freak out about the present. You may not even have a future if you don’t pass high school. You probably will, but it will be the epitome of humiliation. Because of the stress, the work seems to get more and more difficult, causing even more stress. It’s sickness that makes you even more sick. How is that fair?! [Photo by McCayla Hartman] The final stage of senioritis is the most tiring. That’s because it drains every last drop of energy you have left. You’re always tired, lost in thought and emotionless. I wouldn’t describe this feeling of sadness, but more of a “done with everything” sort of mood. There is so much stuff you have to think about, so your mind is working too hard. That’s really not ideal in a school setting. While senioritis seems like just a joke, it really is a serious problem. It can lower your self-esteem, and that will lead to you believing that you can’t succeed. With that attitude, you probably can’t. The best thing for you is confidence. Don’t get motivated because you don’t want to fail. Get motivated because you want to pass. If you are like me, and an optimistic mind-set is really hard to achieve, just write out the things you want. If thinking doesn’t work, turn it into something physical. All you need to do is take a deep breath and never give up.