<p>I'm a high school senior and losing motivation quickly. It's not your typical case of senioritis but more like I just don't see the point to classes. I recently wrote a paper about education in my lang class, analyzing all the flaws that schooling systems have. Cheating, busywork, "studenting," etc. I'm in all advanced placement classes along with about 20 other or so people and our peers and administration consider us to be "the best of the best." I can't believe I was ever so arrogant to ignore this, taking the most AP classes was like an ego thing to me and all my peers.
But I see my peers and friends just memorizing terms, applying them only to the test in the immediate future the disregarding them until the midterm comes up. It seems stupid when you think about it; I feel like I am only learning because "it's the right thing to do," to be a "successful" product of our county's educational system.
Is this just a phase I will be in? I feel like I'm standing still in the middle of a huge crowd that's racing through life. While enlightenment is usually considered great for the mind I feel like this is going to have a negative affect on me because what the typical school system wants is for one to go through motions.
I plan on majoring in business economics so at least it has a lot of math and discussion based classes that will feed my more liberal approach to education but lately I have been feeling like college might not be for me. It sounds crazy coming from the mouth of someone who has always been at the top of their class but what I would really want to do at the moment is drop out of high school. Now realistically speaking I will continue to stay in school, manage to keep up decent grades and go to college next year but I still just worry.
Is this just the result of typical nerves? It sounds dumb but I want to go back to my old self that just went through the motions, didn't think about anything, had the motivation to study all the time and get good grades.</p>
<p>I do agree with your assessment that school is all about “going through the motions” as you put it. It’s very rigidly structured and some people believe that it doesn’t teach what students really want to know. Unless you would be happy in a job which doesn’t require college (which is certainly possible, don’t get me wrong), then another 4 years of schooling is probably your only option. However (here’s the good part), in college you actually get to learn. You don’t have to waste your time in classes that don’t interest you, and you can begin actually learning useful information (and possibly add to the knowledge base through research). So, is schooling right for everyone? No, but it gets better due to the increase of specificity and practicality as your education continues.</p>
<p>Thank you, that’s very reassuring. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely want to go to college but I am/was just worried that I’ll have the same lack of motivation and therefore get screwed out of having good grades, good job, etc. I also think my worries originate from the fact that many people tell me that I’m basically in college right now (since AP’s at my school are very thorough/rigorous) and I dislike my schedule very much, but like you said it’s just the classes (physics and english language) that I am bad at and hate. Luckily I don’t have to take much of either of those at school next year.
Is feeling a little burned out at school and wanting a breath of fresh air kind of what senioritis is?</p>
<p>i talked to my friend over break who’s in his second year of college. he pretty much said the same stuff as you guys. Like as a senior, you kinda lose perspective on everything because you “made it to the finish line” kind of deal. He told me that in college everything becomes more serious because you’re no longer studying hard to get good grades necessarily, it’s so you can have a good life afterwards, get a job, etc.
Still i have a feeling its going to be somewhat of a difficult year considering the amount of work i have lined up for me. So do you have any tips for an academic “refresher?” I recently got a 26% on a physics test and my teacher is going to burn me for getting that because I’m capable of much higher but again, the lack of interest kept me from studying/trying.
Tips?</p>
<p>@rcs1113
I know how you feel. I have the same problem with some of my classes, but luckily I have one class where that is not the case, which is abstract algebra. It is an advanced math course that the instructor is teaching for the first time ever because they wanted me to have an opportunity to challenge myself and learn more interesting stuff. The class has been going great and it makes the rest of my classes more bearable. As a person who is applying to graduate school in theoretical physics quipped to me yesterday, ‘it is unfortunate that you have to be in high school’. Luckily for both of us it’ll all be over soon and college will be much better.</p>
<p>rcs1113: Your current state of mind in your senior year runs almost perfectly parallel to my current state of mind back in my senior year. </p>
<p>Here’s the thing: don’t go on autopilot! </p>
<p>One who allows senioritis to ruin his/her academia will run great risk of allowing senioritis to ruin his/her academia in college. </p>
<p>(I speak from experience. I had HORRENDOUSLY ABYSMAL SENIORITIS back when I was a senior. What happened? I nearly got my admission to my college rescinded. . .twice.</p>
<p>I thought college would erase the ill-effects of senior year. . .but I was wrong. </p>
<p>Short story short. . .I still have senioritis in college. I don’t know what I want in my life, and I’m coasting on my GPA.
HOWEVER, I’m still at my college, sitting in my dorm room typing this reply. Hahah. At least I managed to survive first year (unlike dozens of people who eventually dropped out of college before their first year ended. . . :|)</p>
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<p>I have had ALOT OF ADVICE to give you here . . .but it’s gonna take alot of effort to untangle the thoughts in my head and putting them on paper. it’s something IM is for -__-</p>