Kailyn Scully and Mackenzie Pierce – LRHS News

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – An ancient epidemic is plaguing the inhabitants of Lakewood Ranch High School. The symptoms haven’t changed over the years…laziness, carelessness and drowsiness.  It is the inevitable Senioritis.

It begins with just a few quick naps in class, but it rapidly escalates into plummeting grades and countless absences. Students’ cravings for sleep and freedom start hindering their ability to concentrate on their schoolwork.

Victim Joe Black said, “[Senioritis] stems from our excitement for the start of something new…college. I think that because the application process begins so early in senior year, the rest of the year is spent worrying and looking forward to getting into college rather than focusing on the same old routine of going to high school.”

By second semester in a student’s last year of high school, Senioritis strikes harder than ever. Many of Lakewood Ranch’s students have already been accepted into college, and second semester has little affect on their future plans. Senioritis brainwashes students into believing that they will not benefit from a final semester of high school.

Senior Catie Hanson said, “When it comes to senior year, all you want to do is take the easy way out of anything and everything academic. Your motivation becomes worse and worse with the anticipation of the end of your high school career.”

It’s not hard to identify a victim of Senioritis, especially since almost the entire senior class has been affected.

LRHS assistant principal Valencia Lowen explained, “I have no doubt that Senioritis exists, and that everyone gets it.”

The disease is so contagious that it has even engulfed the minds of freshman.

Freshman LaDahzia Williams said, “I already have Senioritis. I barely do my homework anymore and I just got done with a nice nap in my English class.”

According to LRHS teacher Lillian Martinez, “the effects of Senioritis are evident in all of my students, both seniors and juniors.”

There is no controlling the vicious virus. All a person can do is push through the fog until the light of college shines through.

Senior John Akar said, “Even though I’ve started slacking off, there is still a part of me that doesn’t want all my hard work over the past four years to go to waste.”

Contamination destroys determination, but all hope is not lost.

Lowen said, “Senioritis is a natural habit that shows a student’s excitement for moving on from high school.”

Freedom lays right around the corner, and LRHS seniors hope to survive the disease long enough to make it to graduation.