As defined by the ever so reliable Urban Dictionary, senioritis is, “A crippling disease that strikes high school seniors.” Many say that senioritis kicked in their second day of freshman year, but let’s be real, until sophomore year we were all still wide eyed and afraid of upperclassmen. And sophomore year – if you’re taking AP US – you’re working your butt off in the first truly hard class of your career in school, and you’re still not an upperclassman. But you’re not a freshman either, so you are also trying to figure out your place in the big bad world of high school. Then comes junior year, the year that smacks you in the face. The year where you spend many nights crying over your GPA that was ruined by Pre-Calculus or dying in the sea of key terms from AP Psychology. And towards the end of junior year, when AP testing is over it begins to sink in. To quote Sadie Kasiah, “The symptoms of senioritis start as soon as you take the courageous run to the senior section on the last assembly.”

As described by the girl people call the Queen of Senioritis, Sydney Wisdom, “Senioritis is kind of like looking at a glass of ice water on a hot day and not being able to drink it.” Grades begin to drop and all you can think about is the countdown to graduation. The attendance number in your Powerschool app climbs exponentially and your attire changes drastically. The jeans, new sandals and fancy tops become athletic shorts, running shoes and an old t-shirt from the back of your closet. And the concept of doing your hair each morning? That  flies down the drain.

Since teachers are real-world superheroes, their arch nemesis is senioritis. The evil being that sucks the life and the endurance out of their once high-spirited students, creating a listless, inactive and dull senior class. “You would not be allowed to post what I have to say about senioritis,” Mr. McKinnon said when asked about this phenomenon.

So as the senior attendance drops less and less, remember, this may soon be you. Whether it be an extreme case where all the symptoms are present, or a mild case where you just can’t find a way to get yourself to advisory, keep pushing, because graduation is just around the riverbend.