When first entering high school, it’s a new experience. It’s fun. Sometimes you even look forward to going to school, as you get older and experience new things, mindsets change. Many seniors, as they approach the end of their high school years, start to consider their classes as optional. Suddenly, the months or years start to feel so short, but the days only get longer.
“I haven’t really wanted to go or be at school since a little into my freshman year, so yeah… senioritis is like not wanting to go times ten,” senior Danillo Fanti said.
Whether it’s the teachers, the work, or just the boring lectures, certain seniors just don’t want to do it. It seems like they would rather be doing anything but going to class. Some would rather choose to sit in their car for the whole block rather than go to sit in class.
“I think there are way too many biased teachers at this school that I’ve had to suffer through, and it just gets annoying, it makes it feel like no matter what, like, you’re cooked, ” Fanti said.
Some seniors are also dealing with other aspects of their senior year, like the stress of college that has been on their minds. College, financially, can be very stressful for those who may not have the money for college or who have to save up in order to cover their expenses in college. College can be a huge struggle for many high school students, and a lot may give up due to this.
Senior Griffin Roden remains undecided about college, citing a conflict of interest and financial decisions. “Possibly. I don’t know. Financially, it is hard to figure that out.”
Skipping here at Arcata High School has become the norm around campus, or just taking “long bathroom breaks.” Statistically, since last year, the number of students cutting class has gone down, but there is nothing statistically surrounding the breaks during class. Seniors like to indulge themselves in all of these privileges, but who can blame them, really? Skipping, living life the way they choose to before higher expectations come of them, is just something seniors need to do. It’s one last year to really enjoy your childhood before it comes to an end and responsibilities kick in. The last year of high school is something that you should look forward to, not dread.
“I probably leave or skip class around 2 times a week,” senior Silver Yoder said. “Freshman year, I did not like school as much as I do this year. It’s my last year. I might as well take it in as I can.”
Senioritis may not be just straight-up cutting class or leaving, either. There are some students who never miss a class or attend as much as possible. Senioritis is not just all physical; mentally, there can be many students who tune out of school, or students who want to leave but choose not to.
Senioritis, to many, may be a joke, but it’s a very real thing. Whether it’s skipping because they don’t care, being bored with school, scared of what to do after high school, whether or not to go to college, or how to pay for college, a very real tension builds up between the end of senior year and the beginning of your adult life.
