Senioritis!

Zeromus

Everyone says your second semester of senior year in high school is supposed to be the best time, but it sort of blows.

The whole year started off kind of on a weird foot; my dad died three days before school started, which shifted my focus away from academics a bit in the first place. I've moved on, but that attitude has sort of permeated throughout this last year. Annoying! But my grades were generally good throughout high school, I got a 2180 on my SATs, and I got into my top choice school (New York University) back in December.

The key phrase perhaps being "back in December." To my understanding, most kids get "senioritis" at around this time, where they don't really give a shit, let their grades slip, etcetera. Unfortunately, it seems like it's hitting me kind of hard; my grades aren't really significantly worse than they've ever been, but there have been quite a few days where I simply cannot give enough of a shit to wake up and go to school (I've missed somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 days this entire year). And while I said my grades aren't really bad, I am definitely coasting, which seems to have put me in a spiral of apathy where I feel like my goal when I get out of bed in the morning is to get back in.

So. I'm not so concerned about grades or whatever so much as I am interested in getting a better attitude towards things. I have been trying to exercise regularly, something I hadn't done in the past, but outside of that, things are kind of as they have been. Anyone have some advice on getting some motivation back and making a stronger push towards the end of the year? It's not a dire situation, but no one wants to cross the finish line walking, you know?

Steel Angel

Your friends in the same grade as you may be in similar situations of not really caring about stuff. This would be the time to spend more time hanging out with them when you no longer have to worry about school as much (unless you have AP exams and the like) since you won't be seeing as much of them after summer.

Celois

I never went to HS exactly, so I cannot comment on "senioritist", but DO NOT get in the habbit of skipping classes anywhere anytime. If you do it in HS, it's a bad habbit that you might just consider doing at college. DON'T DO IT.

I made the mistake of missing a class with no excuse for the first time at my CC thinking "It's just one class, who cares?" and then I missed the next one. Then I went again and skipped the next three so I ended up dropping. To be fair it was a superficial liberal arts class for my general ed though. But once you start skipping a class it just becomes far too easy to do it again.

Keep some caffeine pills by your bed, throw a thousand different alarms around your room, just make sure you actually get up in the morning and go. Don't get in the habit of doing it, even at HS level where it won't matter.

HiredGun

Well, one solution for getting yourself more motivated overall is to start by focusing in particular on a subject you're really interested in. In that subject, go above and beyond: impress your teacher with your in-depth knowledge and outside reading, or do an independent project. Do it because it's your last good chance to study this topic before you head off to college and do something else, or (if it's related to your major field of study) because it'll give you an edge once you get there.

If your friends share some of your interests, being able to mix your social life with your schoolwork might help motivate you to do it.

If the problem is more about actually waking up, well, I've got two comments. 1) Talk to your guidance office and make sure that you'll actually be allowed to graduate with all these absences, because a high rate of absence is often taken pretty seriously. 2) Start going to sleep earlier, so you don't feel like getting back in bed instead of going to school.

Finally, although you should put in some effort and try to end school on a good note, don't worry too much about it. Everybody faces a little senioritis, and in some ways you deserve a break before college begins and academics rears its ugly head again. Relax and enjoy the end of high school - there really is nothing like those last few months + summer.

Zeromus

HiredGun wrote: »

Well, one solution for getting yourself more motivated overall is to start by focusing in particular on a subject you're really interested in. In that subject, go above and beyond: impress your teacher with your in-depth knowledge and outside reading, or do an independent project. Do it because it's your last good chance to study this topic before you head off to college and do something else, or (if it's related to your major field of study) because it'll give you an edge once you get there.

If your friends share some of your interests, being able to mix your social life with your schoolwork might help motivate you to do it.

If the problem is more about actually waking up, well, I've got two comments. 1) Talk to your guidance office and make sure that you'll actually be allowed to graduate with all these absences, because a high rate of absence is often taken pretty seriously. 2) Start going to sleep earlier, so you don't feel like getting back in bed instead of going to school.

Finally, although you should put in some effort and try to end school on a good note, don't worry too much about it. Everybody faces a little senioritis, and in some ways you deserve a break before college begins and academics rears its ugly head again. Relax and enjoy the end of high school - there really is nothing like those last few months + summer.

I have an English senior project and have been taking things up a notch in my two other English classes (at least, compared to how I was doing earlier in the year). I still feel generally apathetic, though.

I don't think the absences are really an issue, but you're right, maybe I should check on that.

lordswing

i'm sure i'm one of the rare exceptions, but i never had a problem getting up for school. i think i've missed maybe 10 or 12 days of school throughout highschool (due to college visits, "sick" days, you can thank attendence incentive for this). one of the main reasons why i went to school, was because of the awesome teachers and friends i had, which made my day worthwhile. i've found senior teachers to be more interesting, though this could be because i approached them more. the one thing i regret is not going to more sporting events, as my highschool had some nice programs.

i highly encourage you to find something that you have an interest in, anything at all. the worst possible thing that could happen is your senioritis carries over into college, and that would be devastating. best case scenario? you find an interest that you carry over into college, helping you meet new people.

Zeromus

lordswing wrote: »

i'm sure i'm one of the rare exceptions, but i never had a problem getting up for school. i think i've missed maybe 10 or 12 days of school throughout highschool (due to college visits, "sick" days, you can thank attendence incentive for this). one of the main reasons why i went to school, was because of the awesome teachers and friends i had, which made my day worthwhile. i've found senior teachers to be more interesting, though this could be because i approached them more. the one thing i regret is not going to more sporting events, as my highschool had some nice programs.

i highly encourage you to find something that you have an interest in, anything at all. the worst possible thing that could happen is your senioritis carries over into college, and that would be devastating. best case scenario? you find an interest that you carry over into college, helping you meet new people.

Well, I do have that senior project, and I'm the head editor of the school paper.

Maybe I'm just over-thinking this and I'm not any more senoritis-stricken than your average student. It still feels bothersome, though.

Chief1138

There's nothing you can do about it. As long as you don't let the grades drop too much, there's nothing wrong with focusing on other stuff and getting ready to make that major life adjustment...because believe me, once you hit college, you'll realize just how little high school matters in the great scheme of things... once you've gotten yourself into college, just worry about keeping your head above water and not making an ass of yourself, and you should be fine.

DeathPrawn

I've been able to avoid senioritis myself this semester by taking a bit of an unconventional look at it. This is really the first time in your life you're being asked to do work without the motivation of grades. I mean, yeah, you still have them, but they don't matter. So this is one of the first times in your scholastic career where you have the ability to learn for the sake of learning and because you want to, not because you have to. In my mind, this makes the work that much more rewarding. I mean, this attitude may not work for everyone, but in addition to your standard second-semester senior goofing off and partying and all that jazz that I'm still doing I feel like I'm a better student than I've been throughout high school.

Also, try to make studying and such more enjoyable somehow. I do all my math homework in a cozy chair at the local independent coffee shop, for example. I'm reading Anna Karenina for English, so I've been reading the entire thing at the beach. Mix things up a bit.

Shazkar Shadowstorm

Strangely, I had my best grades senior year. Meh, just go with the idea of finishing strong, because you can. For pride. That's why I did it.

Also, I started doing jiu-jitsu, and I hadn't done sports in HS, and it was a good activity that kept me busy and has given me something fun to continue at college.

EDIT: unfortunately I'm now a lazy shit at college.