A cosmic battle to get motivated

There is a disease that creeps its way into the second semester at every high school, and into the minds of nearly every high school student who is not actively vigilant in their second semester. It rips motivation from its socket and replaces it with a lack thereof.

The beginning of every new part of every year seems to carry a fresh feeling of rebirth. We think to ourselves, "I can be a different person now. I can correct everything that I did wrong before and come out better for it."

Of course, we all know the excitement that comes with making New Year's resolutions, and we likewise know how short-lived they can be. The same is true, and sometimes even worse, in high school. We are all plagued with the disease of idleness, whether we will admit to it or not, and something must be done about it.

It isn't wrong to have a strong start to the semester. "The beginning of the semester is the time that I work extremely hard, in comparison to the rest of the semester, because how I start the semester is usually how the rest of the year turns out," said Faith Christian High School sophomore Abby Riley.

So should we applaud people like Abby? Of course. But we mustn't leave it at that. This is where we, as a general mindset, are going wrong. We simply look admiringly upon those who see things to the end and change nothing about ourselves.

Unfortunately, I've found this to be doubly true in high school. In fact, we seniors — and even some underclassmen — have narrowed the epidemic to a specific strain, which we call "senioritis."

Senior Deep Bhatti describes senioritis as a mindset in which "school isn't your priority anymore. It's kind of like a reward for the three and a half years that I spent working really hard."

Specifically, senioritis is defined by Wikipedia as "the decreased motivation toward studies displayed by students who are nearing the end of their high school ... careers," but the epidemic unfortunately extends beyond the second semester of senior year.

Evan Treanor, a junior, has had his own experiences with senioritis: "I've had it since freshman year. I've focused more on being social than on school. I surrounded myself with people with a lack of motivation to do anything, so I lost my motivation to do anything," he said. Believe it or not, this is not an uncommon experience.

"But this semester, I'm trying to focus more on school than my social life, because high school is really important for determining the rest of your life," Evan added.

Senioritis is not unique to Faith Christian. A simple lack of motivation can destroy one's career, and yet we accept it as the norm. For crying out loud, we've set aside a day (Jan. 17, to be exact) specifically for giving up on New Year's resolutions.

We need to push off the apathy that has planted itself in our minds and be motivated. Maybe, as this generation corrects its mistakes, the next will learn from us.

Travis Dodds is a senior at Faith Christian High School. His column appears every six weeks in Education.