Oh, senioritis. The highly-contagious disease of seniors across the globe. You may claim you don’t have it, but then it creeps up on you and begins to take over your life. I’m not speaking from personal experience, of course…

If you’re one of the few that hasn’t accepted your problem, let me give you a little breakdown of the signs and symptoms that senioritis brings. A few of them are hard to spot, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.

“But it’s only November!” You may say. “Why is she writing about this now?” Well, friends, I want to give you ample time to cure this disease before it’s too late. Many people have it right now at this very school. And if you want to be the best you can be this year, trust me, you’ll want that cure.

1. Excessive daydreaming

A sharp increase in thinking about anything and everything unrelated to what you’re working on is one of the first symptoms. Now, if you’re a high school student, chances are, you’re prone to procrastination. This behavior is typical for the average teen. However, there’s a big difference between the occasional floating thought and wasting your entire day away. Next time you’re in class, pay attention to what you’re thinking about – is it related to your academics? Probably not.

2. Ignoring schoolwork

You know the feeling – after a long day putting in hours at North Penn, you get home and get right into bed. After scrolling through social media for way too long, you realize. Homework is looming in the distance. Now, there are a few options when it comes to dealing with schoolwork. First of all, you could simply pretend it doesn’t exist. It’s a terrible method in terms of your grade, so I absolutely wouldn’t recommend. Or, perhaps, you could decide to deal with it in the morning. You know the phrase: due tomorrow, do tomorrow. But is that going to be your best work? No. Just go with the third option and get it done. It’s really not that bad.

3. Increased use of social media during school hours

Do you remember when school used to revolve around social interaction with your peers? Well, I don’t. These days, people have become content with scrolling on their phone for hours rather than making personal connections with their classmates. If you find yourself avoiding talking to people because you’re going to graduate anyway and your relationships with people won’t continue the second you leave this building, I’m here to call your bluff. Yes, some people are temporary. It’s true. However, some of the people you meet in high school will be your friends until the end of time. Maybe if you looked up from your device once and awhile, you could meet some of these lifelong friends.

4. Desire to leave the building

For me, this feeling comes while I’m walking down the one outdoor strip between first floor K pod and the music hallway. The thoughts of leaving start to arise. “What if I ran out the black gate?” “If I quietly slipped through the doors in the A pod stairwell, would anyone notice?” These lingering thoughts are a sure fire way to determine if you’ve caught senioritis. Remember sophomore year – when North Penn was a fun, invigorating place to be? It still is.

5. Holding the belief that nothing matters

The most common symptom of senioritis is lack of motivation. Commonly heard phrases from people impacted by this epidemic include: “This assignment won’t matter in five years, so why should it matter now?” “Nothing I’m taught in this school will help me later on in life.” I hate to burst your pessimistic bubble, but everything matters! Every moment of every day will impact the rest of your life, one way or another. It’s very dangerous to develop a sense of complacency regarding your schoolwork. Colleges are looking at your grades, so it impacts your future. Also, wouldn’t you like to finish senior year on a high note?

Now that we’ve covered the signs and symptoms – how do you fix senioritis, you ask?

Get your head out of the clouds and focus on school. You’ll be a lot happier, I promise. 12th grade is your last chance to make high school a time to remember!