Recently, a highly infectious disease has been spreading through seniors.

The symptoms are getting worse and worse as the year goes by: tiredness, laziness, indifference towards grades, procrastination, and having hard time getting out of bed in the every single morning, etc.

This disease is called senioritis, and it is the last hurdle to jump over before seniors graduate high school. They are like runners in the starting position with hands on the line, waiting for the starting shot called graduation to be fired.

As a senior, I confess that I already have a case of senioritis. It is really hard to get out of bed, and I already accumulated more tardiness and absences than all those from last year.

Kyle Wrede, a senior, also caught senioritis. He said, “All I want to do is sleep and watch Netflix. Or play games in class. I am trying my best not to.”

Since some seniors have already enrolled into college or have at least finished their college application processes, they’re vulnerable to this senior year itch.

I sought out a cure to this illness, and I got some great advice to share from teachers who already went through it.

I talked to five teachers, and I was surprised that some of them did not get senioritis, and, if they did, they knew how to get over it. These conversations motivated me to find a way to beat senioritis.

1. Justin Ecochard – Ask Richard Nixon

Justin Ecochard, a History teacher, recalled his senior year as a great year.

He did not really get infected by senioritis because he was brought up in a home that expected good grades. “I got the vaccination at home,” Ecochard said and laughed.

“For me, getting over senioritis is thinking about the future,” Ecochard said. He said that he knew slacking off could have a “major effect” on his future.

He kept up a good pace because he did not want to slack off.

For current seniors, Ecochard gave a piece of advice from history.

He brought up people in history who had had incredible careers throughout their entire lives but then they did “something stupid or do something bad.”

“That is what you will be remembered for,” he said. “Ask Richard Nixon.”

(As the 38th President of the United States, Richard Nixon accomplished many good things, such as ending the Vietnam War and improving relations with other countries, yet he had to resign his presidency because of Watergate Scandal.)

“That is the image of a lot of people have of Nixon forever,” he said.

Ecochard advised current seniors not to follow in the footsteps of these historical figures.

“If they care about what other people thought of them during their life here or their time here, I think senioritis is not something that they want to have because it cast a negative shadow on what they did,” he said.

2. Elana Resnick – Grab Your Opportunities

Elana Resnick, a Physics teacher, said her senior year was great because she had many opportunities.

“I was interested in doing well before going to college to get myself set up with a really good situation,” Resnick said.

She did not suffer from senioritis, for her classes were intensive throughout the year and her teachers helped her to keep motivated.

To current seniors, she gave them advice based on her experience.

“I would say to take advantage of all of the opportunities that you have,” Resnick said. “Get your voice out there now in high school.”

She added that it will help students make a good transition when they get to college, as classes are all around the clock.

3. Kara Grady – Continue to Work and Be Proud of the Work You Are Producing

Kara Grady is a Math teacher who teaches AP Calculus AB and AP Statistics.

Her senior year was fun because she took a lot of electives. She took Drama, Art, and explored other fields, knowing that college would be a lot of work.

Grady said, “I was going to pursue science and math, so I just decided to take classes that I would succeed in and would enjoy. So, I don’t think I had senioritis.”

Because she knew she was interested in math and science, she kept taking intense math courses such as AP Calculus.

But, she had to admit that she did not push herself as far as she could have.

“I actually should have taken AP Biology, but it conflicted with Drama so I chose Drama,” she said, laughing.

Grady gave her advice to her students, especially those who are in AP classes.

“You are here. You might as well put your time and your effort in. And, you are in these AP classes because you deserve to be there. So, you should be earning grades that reflect that,” she said.

She asked them to “continue your work and be proud of the work you are producing.”

4. Heather McDermott – Do Not Develop Bad Habits

Heather McDermott, an Environmental Science teacher, recalled her senior year as fantastic.

Her senioritis kicked in towards at the end of the year when she got in to the college.

But, she overcame it because she knew she had to do her work. She said she did not want to develop bad habits by not doing work because she did not want that mindset in her freshman year at college.

“I wanted to go beach with everyone else. So, I spent my nights and did what I needed to do so that I could do what everyone else was doing,” McDermott said.

She advises seniors not to develop bad habit. “You can fall into the trap of not doing what you are supposed to do. Because you develop habits and habits follow you into college,” she said.

5. Jason Toncic – Study for Yourself, Not for Others

Last person I talked to was Jason Toncic who teaches English and Journalism.

“I never even really considered it,” Toncic said. “I was not in school at the time to just get a grade. I was in school to get an education. It’s not like education just stops as you got into college.”

Even though he knew what college he would be going very early in October or November, he studied not for other people, but for himself.

“Maybe that’s what makes me a candidate for being a teacher,” he said. “I never considered not doing my work.”

To current seniors, he advised them to “realize that ultimately your grade is a very small and insignificant part of what you will become.”

Toncic rather emphasized an education and said, “What you really need is an education. You need to be able to carry yourself with how intelligent you are, not simply letters filled out on a piece of paper.”