Senioritis is Brewing

78 percent of students face some variation of senioritis. With the second semester right around the corner, students have begun to lose motivation. Sleeping through alarms and turning in assignments two weeks after the due date has become a stressful reality for most students, especially East seniors. Is there a way to reverse the second semester blues? Here, East seniors report on their favorite methods to stay motivated throughout the second semester, especially the brutal months of January and February.

    East seniors Elli Busam and Avery Spreeuw spoke on early senioritis and rituals they use to delay the inevitable lack of motivation towards the end of the school year. Spreeuw started the conversation by stressing the importance of organization. Spreeuw has “notebooks for every one of my classes and a planner that I embarrassingly pull out mid-class that really helps me stay on top of my assignments.”  Spreeuw swears that “staying organized and trying to enjoy the small parts of school is definitely a huge help.” 

Busam and Spreeuw see eye to eye on the importance of finding winter hobbies to push them through the long three months of winter. Busam spoke of her love for “staying home and watching a festive movie. It's definitely one of the things that helps me enjoy winter and unwind from the long school day.” Spreeuw also began touching on the exciting parts of the second semester. Spreeuw is especially “excited to start planning my future. I’m definitely terrified but excited to finish up the tedious high school work we all have to do at some point.” Second semester is a stressful time but an incredible opportunity to bond with your teachers. Similarly, Busam can’t wait to “get to know my teachers better and create relationships with them.” 

These seniors have incredible ways to stay motivated and have a rewarding second semester. Whether it be looking forward to things like Prom, which Spreeuw is “really looking forward to,” or finding ways to connect with those in one’s community, especially teachers. With the inevitable procrastination and all-nighters, second semester has a lot to provide both academically and socially. Spreeuw thinks that “finding things that you like to do can really help the second semester be a good time.” 

Students who have hobbies are “15 percent more likely to be optimistic, 14 percent more likely to be happy and satisfied with their life, and 10 percent more likely to be able to regulate their emotions”. The second semester is a difficult time, but finding hobbies and enjoyment within school is possible and can easily help students stay on top of their work, along with having a positive outlook on the daunting last few months of the school year.