Senioritis During a Pandemic
Nicole Cohoon ‘21
December 10, 2020
Senioritis in the midst of a pandemic and the only cure is graduation. Senior year for millions of American teenagers began in a way most would have never seen coming. Covid-19 has brought the idea of “senioritis” to the next level as the class of ‘21 finishes up their final year of high school. Between online classes, unpredictable circumstances, and everything in between, the class of 2021 has brought the idea of senioritis to a whole new level
Senioritis has always been about a lack of motivation. Students who experience senioritis often will acquire an “I just wanna be done” attitude towards the end of their high school years. Many students this year are seeing that during this pandemic; that lack of motivation is even more so considering the changes our world has made because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
I have seriously lacked motivation especially after being out of school for so long I sort of forgot how to be a student. I think there is less communication so you can’t just ask your teachers you have to email them or use the chat and no one wants to turn on their mic to ask a little question so that gets very frustrating and I think a lot of students just give up. — Nicole Cohoon ‘21
Staff at PHS are seeing first hand how lack of motivation has heavily increased for this year’s seniors.
Students are having some issues with work completion. — English Teacher Jason Grubaugh
There’s a lot of emotional struggles seniors are having. I feel like you guys are more in isolation. — Art Teacher Regina Beltowski
More and more seniors are opting to end their senior year early. Early graduating has always been an option, but this year has looked quite a bit different. This is just another example of how senioritis has affected senior’s means to stay afloat.
There have definitely been more students interested in early graduating. I think this has a lot to do with the reduction or elimination of the common high school activities that seniors really look forward to. — PHS Counselor Brittney Storms
Dylan Oetman is taking solely online classes through the rest of his senior year. He just recently has made the decision to graduate early,
I went into my senior year with a positive mindset, thinking that things couldn’t possibly get any worse. Then somehow, it did. Throughout high school the teachers and staff have overwhelmingly been one of the best parts of highschool for me. But with how some of the higher up staff and administration is handling things, it has just pushed me over the edge. With that being said, this is the biggest reason I am graduating early. — Dylan Oetman
Alexis Branch has recently chosen to finish off her senior year of high school with early graduation.
I feel like choosing to graduate early definitely had a lot to do with senioritis, I saw I had only four classes left to graduate so that really persuaded me to do early graduation. Also, the fact that I would be done with high school a trimester earlier than intended was nice. And with how this year has been going it just seems like a good idea to get it everything done with and not have to deal with switching back and forth between online and hybrid classes third trimester. — Alexis Branch
Along with graduating comes looking forward to steps taken after walking across the stage (if that is even going to happen). This year as well as the upcoming still has many unknowns regarding student’s options after high school. College Advisor Mackenzie Evers is a crucial resource for graduating students this year more than ever before.
This class has been struggling with the pressure of applying to college. Most seniors who I talk to are worried they are behind on this step, and that is discouraging them from moving forward. There is still SO much time to figure out what you want to do next year. I think this has been amplified because of the pandemic. With virtual learning, you always feel like you are forgetting something and that is how they feel about decisions after high school. — College Advisor Mackenzie Evers
Whether the class of 2021 finishes school in person or online, the struggle will remain real for all graduates this year.
