The word that every senior knows too well: senioritis.

Although it’s easy to say you will work your hardest up until the end of senior year, for most students, senioritis seems incredibly difficult to ignore.

After college applications are sent, and the realization that you only have one more year of high school kicks in, it’s easy to start slacking off and missing assignments. However, for some students, senioritis can even start at the beginning of the year.

According to current senior at South, Michael Rodriguez, “Even if kids aren’t affected by senioritis in the beginning of the year, some seniors schedule easier classes, so they don’t need to try as hard. I have some friends who eased up their classes so the workload wasn’t big.”

No matter what a student’s plan is after high school, senioritis is easy to get caught up in.

“There are so many fun activities that seniors get to do and sometimes it’s hard to focus on what’s really important,” said said Michael. Activities like prom, homecoming, and even college trips can distract a student from studying and concentrating on schoolwork. “In a perfect world, everyone will give one hundred percent till the very last day, but for a lot of kids, it’s not realistic.”

However, the important thing to remember is colleges assess a student’s final transcript. Steep decline in students’ grades could cost them their future.

Although senioritis is the easy path, senior year is just as important as the other three. For current seniors, find an equal balance between socializing and studying.

Senior year is the time to have fun, but continue to work towards your future goals, no matter what path you choose.