Wednesday, February 2, 2011
It's Our Time
I have never heard a teacher speak so bluntly about their feelings towards "Senioritis" as I heard Mrs. Elliot speak today. I have to say that I myself am guilty of declaring myself as diagnosed with this “myth” as Mrs. Elliot referred to it, and hearing her talk about it made me realize how whinny and annoying seniors must sound to adults. We are preparing ourselves to go out into the real world were excuses such as laziness are not put up with. Taking responsibility for our actions is a key concept in life that we should all be working towards. We have come so far now to simply lay back and watch our grades slip simply because of how close we are to the finish line. Our discussion today in class has truly inspired me to just do the best that I can for these last few months we have in school, I mean I have been working my tail off for four years to go out with a reflection of last minute mediocre effort. I wish to also be a good influence for others that feel this way, the reason why it is so easy to blame our carelessness on “senioritis” is because we are all doing it! We see each other and hear each other acting on this word and therefore we think it is okay to act the same way. This is no time to slow down but rather to push ourselves in ways that we never have before. To build our strengths and work on our weaknesses so that we can truly be proud of ourselves when we walk across the stage inches away from that wonderful, long-awaited piece of paper. So I encourage every senior to give our last year their all, to try new things and to be excited for what is to come.
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One problem adults seem to have with our generation is that we never seem to take responsibility for our actions. Upon entering senior year, students already have a pre-conceived notion that only half of the year counts, and that it is okay if we slack of because we are seniors. THe way I see it is that it does not matter how you begin a race, but how you end it. If we start off well but quit in the end, then all our hardwork reflects nothing but our failure in the end. As seniors we should want to end high school on a good note, with no regrets or failures tying us down. This is our chance to eave behind our legacy on a school where we have spent the most recent years of our education. I guess the real question is, do you want to go out with a bang? Or would you rather go out with a splash? As Mrs. Elliott said, senioritis is irrelevant. What matters are the choices we make in life, and how we live by those choices.
ReplyDelete-Rebekah Adeyemo
I'm glad I have at least one convert. The words we use are so important. In 4th period a student said, "Senioritis is just a synonym for laziness; there's no difference." But I disagree. We say, "I am being lazy" which takes responsisbility for our attitude/actions. We say, "I have senioritis" which implies we have no control; it is just something which has latched on to us. Thanks for listening :)
ReplyDeleteI agree that the conversation in class has cleared my mind to what senioritis really is. I'm not going to lie, I threw the word around a lot and considered it to be laziness. But now I realize it is actually just an excuse we use to slack off, which isn't right. Being seniors, we are about to go out into the real world, and every decision will truly matter. It's time to stop being lazy and take responsibility for our actions.
ReplyDelete-Taylor C.
The conversation we had in class about senioritis really opened my mind to what the word really means. I always threw around the word and considered it to mean laziness. But now I realize how wrong I truly was. Being seniors, we are about to go out into the real world, and it is about time we take responsibility for our actions rather than blaming our problems and mistakes on irrelevant things.
ReplyDelete-Taylor C.
I have watched my motivation to do my best in school get progressively worse as high school went on. I would never let my grades completely plummet, but knowing I will be gone in May makes it extremely difficult to dedicate my full attention to school work. -Richard H
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you!!! I feel like it is ironic how students slack off towards the end of senior year because we are going to college, when we should be preparing ourselves for the difficulties college education entails. Senioritis is not a condition, it's a choice.
ReplyDelete<3 lisa lee
I agree with every single comment above. I don't really feel the need to slack off, even though I am a senior in my last semester of high school. All the other seniors that completely give up just because they have already been accepted into college must give us all a bad rep. We must sound so annoying to others that are older and more educated than we are, like Bekah said. What most seniors don't realize is that the hard part hasn't even come upon us yet. Senior year is still easy! College isn't always going to be a party and barely passing classes. It's the beginning of our careers, something we will all have to bust our butts at.
ReplyDelete-Meredith k
I've never been a fan of hearing students complain of how bad their senioritis is. It shows our lack of self-responsibility as we are always looking for someone or something to blame our problems on. I mean, of course we didn't do last night's homework out of pure laziness, it had to be senioritis' fault. I am in the same boat as most seniors and finding the effort to complete homework and study for tests gets more difficult each week. However, I don't mind admitting that I'm simply lackadaisical.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post, and I also have to admit that I also have said that I have "senioritis". However after the discussion I have realized my mistake, and that there is no such thing as "senioritis", students have just developed this term for their laziness. By writing this I don't mean to say that people that use this term are bad, I believe towards the end of year everyone tends to lose passion in school, and they just wanna move on. I guess guys we just have to remember we all been waiting for this day since so long, and now lets finish it off with a BANG, and remember it forever.
ReplyDelete-Semarn K
Mrs. Elliot broke it down. I'm don't usually verbally express my dislike for something, I keep it to myself. However, after hearing Mrs. Elliot speak upon senioritis and how assignments and classes are not about the grade you receive, but the experience you endeavor.. I've been enlightened and I don't use the term "pointless" assignments so loosely.
ReplyDelete"Senioritis" is something that hits hard at Los Osos and something that is extremly common amongst a good portion of the students here (even those who are not seniors). As we see graduation in the close future, and prepare ourselves to venture off to college, many of us see no point in giving it our all anymore. This post made me realize however that there really is no excuse for this lack of effort and energy, it is simply life. There will be times when we get sick of our so called routine, and there will be times when we feel as though nothing matters anymore, but it is part of our nature to continue doing our best and trying our hardest when we want to quit. It is during these struggles that we define our hardworking abilities, and we need to stop making excuses for our lack of commitment. It is not over yet, and that is something that we need to continue to tell ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed what Mrs. Elliott had to say about senioritis, mostly because I really don't like when people take so many difficult classes just to get an A and not get anything more than that out of the class. These are the people that don't see the value in the opportunities these classes have to offer and go through life simply searching for monetary gain and not stopping to notice how beautiful life and art can be. Yes, I myself am enrolled in many AP classes, but I have an interest in each one of my classes and try to get the most out of it (except math, but there's nothing to get out of cold numbers anyways). I too have my moments of laziness, but getting past that reaps all the rewards school has to offer.
ReplyDelete-Bobby R
I completely agree with you and unfortunately I too have used this excuse the closer I get to graduation. After hearing what Mrs. Elliott had to say about this myth being such ridiculous excuse I had to step back and think about my own actions. Even though my senior year seems to be composed of more and more work with each week I have also noticed a lack of commitment towards that work. Yet I know senioritis will get me nowhere and therefore I must act quickly before my time as a senior comes to an end.
ReplyDelete-Melissa Mejico
I have to admit I have become lazier as I have gotten closer to the end of high school. I would never admit that I have senioritis; however, for the concept just seems silly to me. Why would anyone want to slack off when they can be learning and preparing themselves for the next step? Isn't that like slowing down when your nearing the last 8th of a quarter-mile sprint? Isn't that like stopping before the last rep on your bench-press? Premature disclosure, or senioritis, can be accepted to a certain standpoint, but we students must learn to push through it and fight on until the end. Oooh yeahh. :O
ReplyDeleteRespect.
Cameron T
I used to have senioritis, but somewhere along the start of the second semester I overcame this. I agree that it is just a way of saying I'm lazy; however I don't see it as not taking responsibility for your own actions. I knew it was my choice, and it was my choice to be lazy just as it was my choice to stop being so lazy.
ReplyDeleteAndrew V
Because the excuse is a tradition, I think everyone will fall victim to it. For me, the key to keep moving forword and doing my work is my countdown: 2 months until prom, 3 until gradtuation, and 4 until I move to college. That mantra is what keeps me sane.
ReplyDelete-Brianna C.
i definitely agree with you and what mrs. elliott said in calss before. only if i read this earlier, i could have ended using senioritis and kept my grade. i have used senioritis as an excuse to not do my work and get away with it. and now i have to work even harder than i have ever done to keep my grades. at least i learn my lesson this time so i will never "have senioritis" again.
ReplyDeleteI COMPLETELY agree with you and mrs. Elliot. When I hear people say what a bad case of senioritis they have, I cringe. I honestly think people say that because they are just so proud that they can associate themselves as seniors. Honestly, if the highlight of someone's day is to show off that they are a senior and that they are part of the loop of "senior stuff", then they are just complete idiots. Instead of just being like everybody else and being a sloth at the end of all our years of hard work, we should strive to be unique or to finish our record off with no regret. Thank you for being unique, and thank you for not giving in to the absurd myth of senioritis.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Hawkins