Senioritis by Aria

Senioritis by Aria - May 2014 Scholarship Essay

"As easy as senioritis may be to contract, try your very best to avoid ever coming in contact with it. Seemingly harmless when first conceived, it can bring you a world of pain." These were the words of my English teacher on the last day of my junior year. My classmates and I were all so excited about moving on to our last step of graduation. I had heard of senioritis before, but I was perplexed as to why my teacher had referred to the mere laziness as such as fatal, life-threatening disease.

It wasn't until the second semester of my senior year that I came to realize the severity of senioritis and appreciate the creative license that my English teacher had taken to describe it. I began to feel very lax, unmotivated, and an urge to procrastinate that I had never experienced before. The thought of being so close to finishing high school and continuing on to college had settled so deeply in my mind that I began to lose focus on the fact that I would need good grades to complete high school successfully. Luckily in addition to the thought of completion I had the kind words of my teacher embedded in my brain and I was able to redeem myself from my short-lived detour off the path to success.

Although this "illness" is most prevalent in high school seniors, the lessons learned from it can be applied at every level of education. It stresses the importance of putting your best foot forward in all your efforts, to never lose focus on the goals that are so near to you by becoming comfortable or complacent in the fact that you're almost there, and understanding that hard work brings dreams to fruition. You never know the mishaps that can occur during the home stretch of your treacherous journey. However, you never want to the cause of your downfall to be the result of you our own efforts or lack thereof. Needless to say, I am graduating in the top ten percent of my graduating class with the third highest grade point average because of the diligence, drive, work ethic, and perseverance inspired by the great words of my eleventh grade English teacher. I have learned that while complacency negates drive, diligence negates complacency and I will take this concept with me to college and all of my future educational endeavors.