There are 45 school days left in the senior year as this is typed. Many students seemed to have caught the sickness most commonly known as “Senioritis”.

Dictionary.com defines sen-ior-i-tis as: a decline in motivation or academic performance that supposedly afflicts some seniors in high school, especially in their last term.

The term comes with the territory. Many freshmen joke that they have the lazy disease, but seeing as they have been here for one year, and seniors have been here for four, the comparison of lack of motivation isn’t even close.

“You have two block a day, you get home and immediately think, I’ll do it later, but then later never comes,” senior Ryan Rogers said.

The diagnosis is pretty easy to see. Not turning in assignments or caring about homework being late. Lack of enthusiasm in striving for grades, that colleges want to see. Laughing rather than panicking if a test is bad. Being late to school, or skipping altogether.

When asking other seniors, the trend is easy to see. No one really feels the push any more. Especially if the classes they are taking at the end of the year, aren’t necessary to graduate.

“It’s rough when all you want to do, is nothing at all,” senior Anna Stuckwisch said. “You have homework to do but you don’t feel the need to do it. The struggle is real when it comes to caring to check grades. It’s almost a, get what you get and don’t throw a fit type of thing.”

‘My parents made me take them’, or ‘I thought it would be fun, but now I don’t care if it’s fun or not, I just want to be done’. This is usually the thought process even if they take a class with the majority being seniors, and the teacher respecting the fact that they have busy lives outside of school.

The effort still isn’t there.

Seniors have a difficult time, knowing how many days are left before they are done with high school. With thoughts of college and careers on the horizon, it’s no wonder seniors have challenges focusing on the present.

“I definitely feel that I’m ready to go to college and move on from high school,” senior Allison Busch said. “There’s going to be a lot more opportunities in college for me.”

While juniors are stressing over the ACT scores and prom and senior year schedules, the seniors could be stressing over housing, tuition and how much college textbooks cost (it’s a hefty chunk of change). Whether or not they will get a compatible roommate and if they will join the right clubs are all on their mind.

When senior year rolls around, things start to morph. The need to focus all your energy on the horizon and future plans begins to consume one’s life. The worry and excitement, the hope and fear, bubbles to the surface. People stop caring, or they just can’t seem to push enough to finish the year strong.

“I’d like to have more wellness activities, like having students take care of themselves through laughing, socializing, disconnecting from their screens and being realistic with all the commitments they take on.” Principal Greg Tiemann said.

Parents could also play a factor. The need to start to help their children become young adults, and make their own decisions doesn’t help. The adults want students to become aware that actions have consequences and that parents won’t always be there to get them out of it.

This creates a bit of a problem.

In high school, having a parent call out when not needed isn’t that big of a deal. But when skipping a class in college, it’s a waste of money. So, students get set in the mood of, skipping class isn’t a worry. However, in college, the study system, the class times and amount of effort in classes change. Skipping a class could have major backlash.

“I would love to look into life skills that we can teach students on how to handle mental burnout,” Tiemann said. “It can happen in college and in life.”

While it’s easy to get in the mindset that the school year is done, and that things don’t matter as much, senior year needs to be a preparation for college. The prep for sticking out a class, even if it’s not liked as much. The want to take and review great notes. Go in for extra help and get a fantastic GPA. But not everyone will do that.

The disease is incurable. It’s an epidemic every year and doesn’t have a foreseen future of stopping. Seniors know the deal. Juniors don’t know what is going to hit them. Nothing can prepare them for the tidal wave that is senior year.