“If senioritis means a decrease in motivation then I definitely have it, there just came a point this year where I really started to not care,” senior Garrett Murray said describing a contagious malaise that seems to strike second semester: senioritis.

Murray said that the biggest decline in motivation towards work was during his senior year.

Nathan Sakowicz is a senior who takes an AP class. AP classes are considered to be a much more challenging class, as they give you college credit if you pass the course. So it was interesting to see if senioritis had affected Sakowicz.

“The only class I work hard in is my AP class, my motivation towards everything else has declined greatly, especially in this second semester,” Sakowicz said.

Whether it’s finding ways to put the least amount of effort into their work, or just not doing school work at all, there is decreased motivation across the senior class.

“I think I stopped caring most when my friends did, I think it starts with one person and starts spreading to others,” senior Haley Torrez said.

Torrez said it’s easy to not do work when you know other people aren’t going to do it either.

“It does seem contagious because you see someone stop caring about school work but still do fine, and then you slowly start to become that person,” Torrez said.

Senior year is known as a memorable year for most people, a time they will remember for the rest of their life. This can also impact senioritis because students are more concerned with fun memories and time with friends than their studies.

“Senior year is about having the most fun I can, not necessarily about school,” Murray said.

While that sounds like a terrible philosophy, he went on about how this is his last semester of high school. Murray has already been accepted into the college he plans to attend, making academics less of a focus. It’s more about maintaining his grades and enjoying his time left in highschool, Murray said.

“There are so many other things that happen senior year. It’s about us. So I’m not going to let school work consume my last year,” Sakowicz said.

Every high school senior is susceptible. It’s an unavoidable illness that is bound to affect senior year. Why the message might sound like don’t focus on school work, it’s more to just balance the school work while making memories with people in your last year of high school.

“I just hope senioritis goes away in time for college,” Murray said.