“It’s all a scam anyways.” “It’s raining, what’s the point?” “I haven’t done the reading anyways.” These are all thoughts that cross my mind almost everyday I have a class. I am almost at the finish line, but it doesn’t matter. The finish line doesn’t seem worth running or even walking towards. What’s on the other side? Job hunting? No, I am actually supposed to be doing that now while taking the hardest classes of my college career. 

Has anyone else noticed American culture is a lot of saving the most stressful parts of life towards the end and dealing with them all at once? Questioning American college culture aside, this phenomenon is called senioritis. According to Johnson and Wales University, it is a real psychological and physiological occurrence. It is not just being lazy, it is the transition between adolescence into adulthood. 

Burt et al. explores the idea that fifty years ago senioritis used to be more common amongst high school seniors over college seniors (1, 2021). However, now that it’s more common to pursue a college degree, senioritis is more prevalent amongst college seniors due to college graduation feeling more like the transition into adulthood. 

Through my research on this topic I have found many tips regarding how to “fix” senioritis. Johnson and Wales University’s first tip is to “stay organized.” Burt et al. encourages seniors to participate in activities that have instant rewards to get the dopamine in their brain flowing (2, 2021). Looking at these lists is actually more overwhelming than helpful to me. It feels like I have to add more onto my plate just so I don’t lose it. 

Well I have a tip specifically for Captains with senioritis: take a break. Over the three years I have been here I’ve stretched myself thin to feel like I am being a “good Captain” and none of it ever felt like enough. This semester I am choosing to just reward myself for existing and being a good student. Realizing that I don’t have to do it all this semester has been the most freeing and best realization I have come to in my time at CNU. 

I promise it is not going to be the end of the world if you take one thing off of your plate. It would be much more detrimental if you didn’t graduate. Every student comes to CNU with the ultimate goal of graduating, and as long as I get that done, I am happy with myself.

Links to sources: https://online.jwu.edu/blog/12-ways-beat-college-senioritis#:~:text=Senioritis%20is%20a%20real%20phenomenon,%2C%20skipping%20classes%2C%20and%20procrastination.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1300324.pdf