Senioritis has hit some harder than others. I’ve seen students who have stayed dedicated to their schoolwork and clubs, even returning to LM for sports practices or club events during the Senior Project experiential phase, but I’ve also seen others who have checked out. I recall how my classmates and I used to play “over or under” when guessing if a senior would show up to computer science on time, or even at all.
But in all seriousness, easing up in your senior year is a healthy, natural transition to post-high school life. Indulging in senioritis and wanting to move on from high school is reasonable. We’ve endured four years of grinding out homework late at night, stressing about college applications, doing too many clubs and sports, and not getting enough sleep. On top of all of that, we had to deal with two and a half years of the COVID-19 pandemic upending our lives.
I personally had my fair share of senioritis moments. When working on school assignments and club work in these last few months, I can’t think of the countless times I thought to myself, “Why do I care anymore? I’ll be graduating soon.” There were so many points when I wanted to quit on my TSA group, skip newspaper layout, and ditch the swim team all because the work I had put in “wouldn’t matter” in the long run.
However, while looking forward to the future is valid, staying present in the moment and valuing your current opportunities are equally as important. When senioritis infected me, I thought about all of the people that I’d leave upon graduating. Think about all of the friends you’ll possibly never see again, all of the teachers that supported you at your lowest, and your coaches who hyped you up after winning a game. I also appreciated the final opportunities that I had to engage with the communities I loved. I’m so lucky to have led TSA students, swimmers, and other club members in my last year, and I’m thankful for all of the memorable experiences that they have given me.
Let the fact that you have nearly finished high school sink in. I think the craziest realization for me is that I’ll never have the opportunity to walk in the LM halls as a student ever again. If you have gotten to this point without completely checking out, I applaud you, and hope you can go to college without regrets. And for all of you hardcore “let me out” seniors who wanted to leave since September, the time has finally come for us to move on. Regardless of your mindset coming into commencement, I wish that you all take some time to treasure your last few moments as a high schooler.
As cliche as it might sound, tomorrow is not guaranteed. Even if it was, your time as an Ace certainly is not. I urge you to cherish the moments you have now, and appreciate those you will have beyond high school.
