It’s that season again. Get ready to roll up your sleeve for the vaccination! Sure, you might think it is a little early to be worrying about senioritis, but this condition can hit as early as fall, especially for those of us who are graduating in December. While there is not a physical vaccine against this debilitating disease, there are steps you can take to fight the symptoms.
Symptoms of senioritis can vary in frequency of occurrence and severity and may include the following: nervousness, anxiety, upset stomach, laziness, restlessness, stubbornness, apathy, fatigue, lack of motivation and increased number of absences from classes. While most of these symptoms typically range from mild to moderate, if left untreated, they can become acute, which can cause grades to plummet and professors to frown in disappointment. Avoid these symptoms by following a few simple steps.
Step 1: Realize that succumbing to this disease endangers your future. If you allow any of the symptoms, such as apathy or anxiety, to pull you down, your grades will suffer, which could cause a delay in graduation. I don’t know about you, but the very thought makes me shiver in disgust.
Step 2: Get active! Staying busy can help you stay motivated. Get an internship, a campus job or volunteer to get some experience under your belt. It never hurts to collect some decorations for your résumé. You can also get involved with clubs and organizations on campus to give your imagination some positive outlets.
Step 3: Go to class. Just get up and go. Yes, it can be difficult sometimes, especially after a night of cramming for exams and frantically throwing together a halfway decent research paper, but just do it. Besides, many professors give participation and attendance points, which factor into your final average, so avoid skipping class.
Moreover, if boredom causes you to think twice about going to class, try interacting more – ask questions, make comments or start classroom discussions. This makes class much more interesting and helps fatten your participation grade.
Step 4: Take care of your body. Eating right and exercising encourages wellness of the body and mind. That means stop eating fast food three times a day and counting that walk to class as your exercise routine. Cut out foods high in fat (especially trans fats) and watch your sugar intake. Also, find some time to visit the CPA and spend at least 20 minutes doing something physical. Feeling physically good can help keep away feelings of nervousness, fatigue, and lack of motivation.
Hang in there! You have made it this far, so don’t let senioritis consume you. Get vaccinated against senioritis – get active, stay focused and take care of yourself, and you are sure to make it to graduation relatively unscathed. Best of luck!

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