SENIORITIS20: A Nationwide Epidemic
SENIORITIS. The Oxford Dictionary defines this word as "a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance". That definition may become vintage after the Coronavirus Pandemic. The class of 2020, now often referred to as the Class of COVID19, is suffering from a new strain of Senioritis: Senioritis20.
Where the old symptoms of Senioritis were things such as low motivation to attend class, loss of appetite for math and english, intermittent daydreaming and things of that nature, the new Senioritis20 symptoms are much more serious. I will define some of the most obvious symptoms here so that you can be attentive, ready and able to diagnose this condition in a loved one, friend or family member. I will also give some helpful hints as to how to best ward off this disease while we anxiously await the cure.
In no particular order and not limited to, here are some of the most common symptoms of Senioritis20:
1. A STRONG DESIRE TO ATTEND SCHOOL. This can be a bit alarming depending on the person that develops this symptom. Often times, the patient is even taken aback by this desire after years of hard fought "sick" days, spring, winter and summer break countdowns and even daily complaining about the need to attend said school. This symptom is often caused by the sad realization that sometimes love and hate can coincide and that maybe Mrs.Woolsey and her ripped panty hose, body odor and constant sniffles wasn't really all that bad first thing every morning in A block.
2. NOSTAGLIA. It isn't unusual for a patient to want to walk down memory lane. Even if you know that the actual event wasn't as sweet as the revisited recap, walk the road with them. They are spending the last weeks of their senior year basically alone in quarantine. They could use some company. If you are older and it's been a hot minute since you yourself graduated or if you didn't necessarily love your high school experience, it may be hard to comprehend why this period of time is so sad for the patient. It may seem petty or silly to you when you are up at night worried about your tanking 401k, your job or lack-there-of, or simply paying the bills, but to them this is a time that they will never get back. Thirteen years of schooling has brought them to Graduation: a Rite of Passage! They have made it through mid-terms and finals, athletic wins and losses, personal events, bullying and Saturday morning detentions, sad times and happy times. They have, in a lot of cases, spent more time walking the halls of their school on a given day than in their home. Even though they were anticipating change due to graduation, they were not anticipating change that would cancel the very things that have been looking forward to all year. There isn't as much excitement to the icing when you can't share the cake with the ones who baked it with you.
3. ANGER. Who can blame them? They are mad. This disease sucks, has no current cure and who really wants to have a drive-in graduation or graduation parade? Sure, these solutions are a good salve to the wound but they are just covering the gaping hole of pain that only flipping a tassel in person could remedy.
4. LACK OF CLOSURE. Don't romanticize this one folks. Sure, some patients are upset about not seeing their best friends again in the halls of school or having one last lunch table gab session. But these aren't the people that the patient truly needs the closure and will forever have to accept not obtaining. Well, then what kind of closure do they need? I will give you a few examples:
1. The quiet kid in class that has tried for four years to work up enough courage to ask the popular girl out on a date and was "this close" to doing so. Cornona 1 - Quiet kid 0
2. The kid that sat the bench all year and couldn't wait to get one more chance to prove himself to the coach. Corona 2 - Athlete 0
3. The teacher who has been working all year with a student they believe in and truly feels they are almost to where they fully grasp a concept. Corona 3 - Teacher 0
4. The kid that has problems at home and was about to work up the nerve to tell the counselor and seek help. Corona 4 - Kid who needs help 0
5. The kid that worked so hard to climb the ranks of student council to become president and has looked forward to giving the speech at graduation. Corona 5 - StuCo president 0
See what I mean? Things were happening. Kids are grieving the what-ifs!
5. FEAR. This symptom of Senioritis20 can be one of the most severe and it can be crippling. Fear is also known to cause night sweats, mood swings, tears and even diarrhea. I have heard it said that all emotions come from two places: love and fear. Well, my friends, fear isn't always presented in the prettiest manner and can often come out disguised as a snippy attitude, grumpiness, sleepiness and even extreme sadness.
High school was a cocoon. A safe haven. Even if it was often used as a derogatory term, school was actually cool. Everybody was doin' it! The teachers, even the ones often complained about, were familiar. The walls and halls of the building were like home. They were covered in artwork, school event posters, science projects, photography and other things that were proof of life in the place that housed the dreaded classes and exams and anticipated pep-rallies and games. Being told that the patient cannot return "home" is unsettling. It is scary. They find themselves in a limbo between childhood and independence, vaguely divided by a sort-of abyss rather than the originally planned graduation ceremony with physical passing of the diploma and tossing of the hat. The seniors now sit alone in their rooms in front of a screen all day that was otherwise constantly something they were told to "stop staring at". Their work is electronic, their correspondence difficult and synthetic seeming and their tests aren't even truly tests because they have access to the answers right behind them on their bed or nightstand. Their world is no longer familiar. The patient longs for the past, albeit one they could not wait to move on from in anticipation of college, because it is a warm blanket compared to the uncertainty that lies ahead. Couple this will a worldwide pandemic that is killing thousands and you have fear.
6. OVERPOSTING. The only treatment for this symptom is grace. Good ole fashioned, bite-your-tongue-and-don't-unfollow grace. Even if you see the patient post the same nostalgic Junior Prom photo forty five times on Instagram, click the LIKE button! Give them the support that you are able to give with one touch of your finger. Not THE finger. I know that seeing Mary run around town in her soon-to-be-unused graduation gown and cap shooting pictures in her old stomping grounds will be cute the first time, but once Mary's friends see what Mary is doing the whole town's worth of seniors will be doing the same. Like them anyway. And add a heart emoji for good measure.
7. DEFEAT. Be on the lookout for this symptom. It is the last one I will mention and likely the most concerning. If you notice your patient to seem unsurprised when another event is cancelled, take note. If they begin to talk about taking a gap year next year, already anticipating the cancellation of college in the fall, take note. If their facial expression doesn't change at all when discussing alternate graduation ideas and potential ways to make it special or how to celebrate even if a party isn't going to happen due to social distancing, be alarmed. They haven't worked this hard to quit now! The antidote is creativity! Help them dig deep. In a world where there isn't as much as usual to look forward to, make something! Remind them that maybe they aren't going to get the graduation that everyone else got to have but maybe, just maybe, they will get the graduation that everyone remembers! Different isn't always bad. The class that was born into the chaos of 9/11 wasn't meant to be defeated. They were meant to be trailblazers, challenged by change and eager to make the world a better place!
So now what? We have diagnosed our patients and we have some advice on how to manage them. But is it really enough to manage their cases? I don't know about you but I want a cure to this Senioritis20 epidemic! I want the long term side-effects of the disease to forever remind them of what they beat. I want them to see the strong desire to attend school as a reminder that they are blessed to have had a place where they had the freedom to learn and grow. I want their nostalgia to always be a part of them so that they don't take things for granted in life knowing that at any time and without warning, they can be taken. I want their anger to be channeled into drive and determination to find a way to make the best of the situation which will further educate them on one of life's greatest lessons. Like Nicolas Evans said, "Life isn't about what happens to you, it's about how you handle what happens". I want the scars of the lack of closure to always remind them to not wait for a perfect time to do something because the perfect time is often the present. I want them to learn to react more from love than fear because love comes from God. He is the giver of all things good. Regarding of the over-posting, I want them to look back one day and see those memories and all the "LIKES" and be reminded of the community, family and friend group that surrounded them with grace and love at a really tough time in their life and be driven to return the favor. Where defeat is concerned, I am not worried about that. This group of Seniors has grown up learning from some of the most dedicated, selfless, giving people the world has ever seen. From the first responders at Ground Zero in 2011 to the current ICU units filled with exhausted doctors and nurses all across our nation to the brave soldiers continuing to fight for our freedom, these kids have been taught by a lifelong example that defeat isn't an option.
So if Senioritis was defined in the Oxford Dictionary as a "decline in motivation of performance", I can only imagine Seniorits20 will be added before we know it under the antonym for Seniortis as "a strong increase in productivity, positivity and gratitude" due to the realization that life isn't about the moments that we mourn but the moments that we seize.
Cheers to the Class of 2020!
Dedicated to my Senior!
