With only a month and two days left before graduation, seniors have turned in their senior research papers, applied for college, and filled out their FASFA forms. All that is left for seniors is to pass the rest of their classes, pay for school fees, finish their community service hours and try not to get in trouble before starting the rest of their lives as they walk across the stage to get their diplomas.

However, many seniors fall short of graduating due to the crippling epidemic that almost every senior goes through: Senioritis. Senioritis happens to the best of us and can cause one to not finish his/her senior year. For those of you who don’t know what Senioritis is or have not been affected by it, it is a contagious disease that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.

Senioritis originates from the word senior plus the suffix -itis, which refers to an illness. This is a term used in the United States to describe the decreased motivation toward studies demonstrated by students who are nearing the end of their high school careers.

The main symptoms of senioritis include procrastination, lack of motivation, a drop in academic performance, a desire to drop out of school, and going through classes with very little concentration along with truancy and frequent tardiness. It also includes an over-excessive wearing of sweatpants and/or yoga pants, hoodies, and athletic t-shirts. If you have it bad, showering only happens every other day.

Before I was diagnosed with Senioritis, I was known for dressing up every day for school. There wasn’t a day where you’d find me without wearing make-up and a dressy outfit.  Now, waking up at 7 AM has become my worst nightmare. I start school at 8:20 AM and I still manage to over sleep and am late almost every morning. However, there is no medication that can cure this disease. Victims of the epidemic should push through by getting extra sleep at night, studying, and eating a good breakfast each morning until they can be treated and cured.

The only known cure to this day is known as graduation. For the underclassman that have yet to experience Senioritis should make sure they don’t procrastinate because Senioritis is a deadly disease that you think you can control, but in reality it is controlling you.