Senioritis is defined as “a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance”
Oxford Languages
If you’re a senior, there’s a good chance sennioritis is already hitting home, and hard. What about those who do school part/full time and work part/full time? That alongside family obligations, maybe even just a lot of club, sports, and other extracurricular obligations can bring stress upon seniors. Being in your junior or senior year and trying to do anything outside of school may feel like you’re drowning. If you find yourself or someone else struggling with this problem, here are some ways to help.
1 Find your comfort food. After going to school from 7:40 to 2:30, then work from 4 to 11, you’re going to need a good meal, maybe some iced tea. Find what works for you, so long as you’re eating.
2 Find people you want to spend time with. Why waste the only time you have after work, school, and whatever else you have with someone you don’t really like. Your time is precious. Make good friends. Cut fake people out of your life.
3 Make sure you’re getting paid for what you’re doing at your job. If you take on extra duties not necessary for your job, get the raise to come with it. Talk with your boss, and express your opinion and worth, as well as what you need to get out of the job.
4 Energy Drinks. As a last resort, if you really need it, get the most vile, disgusting energy drink you can find and chug it. It’ll keep you awake and make it so that you don’t actively want it even when you don’t need the extra energy.
5 Multi-tasking and time management. Is work slow? Maybe you have a boring family dinner? Whip out some homework. Then you won’t feel as bored and you might occasionally have an hour or two to relax. As much as it may suck, you have to have your priorities straight.
6 Don’t overcommit yourself. You can do what you can do and that’s ok. If you can’t volunteer twice a week, work two jobs, and have a social life all while getting straight A’s and being involved in clubs, people will get it. Many studies have proven that this leads to stress. If you overdo yourself, you’re gonna burn out fast and hard and not be able to do anything at all.
7 Check in with yourself. Once every little while, sit down, read a book, and just be. Do you feel so exhausted you can’t even bring yourself to do that without feeling stressed? Lighten your load, get rid of any time-consuming things you do that don’t help you.
8 Get rid of social media. Yes, this is something that everyone says, but it genuinely can help. Social media takes up so much mental space that when you stop, it opens up more time for something else. Don’t really use TikTok that much and every time you go on it, it drives you insane because everything is so dumb? Delete. Do you find yourself scrolling through Instagram feeling sad because everybody else is going to Europe and has interests, is always hanging out with their friends buying clothes and starbucks? Delete. The only thing you do on Snapchat is send streaks? Delete. It.
There doesn’t seem to be a good option for those working and going to school while also balancing other obligations, but ultimately you’ll get out of high school and into adulthood, and you won’t have to dedicate 40 unpaid hours of your week to hygiene-ignorant teenagers, crowded hallways, and way too much homework.
