(June 17, 2003) — According to Tony Arias, on page 1066 of the Anderson W. Clark’s Collegiate Dictionary, right under the word “senior” and above “seniority,” is the word “senioritis.” Se·nior·i·tis ’sç-nyer-i-tes n, pl i·ti·des -I-te-,dçz [fr. High school] (1930) : An infectious disease by which a student in his senior year of high school is suddenly overcome with the need to strive for average: a specific senior disease: a condition by which one barely gets by to graduate with the least amount of work done possible. The epidemic hit some at the beginning of this year, others after big projects like standardized tests and senior projects were over—for afew, it hit in their freshmen year of high school. Even with their apathetic and procrastinating attitudes, seniors eventually felt “a mad rush to finish everything on time,” said Alice Lee. “Then you get this sudden urge to get things done. It’s like this little thing that ticks in the side of your head…you ignore it and at the end of the year it just comes back to you and it kind of haunts you,” she continued. While some suffered from the frantic and demanding schedule of their final year of high school, others found the year to be “a lot easier, because there wasn’t as much pressure as there was in previous years,” said Vladimir Vedenyapin. For some seniors, whether it was because of senioritis or the varying pressures of the school year, one of the hardest things about their senior year was attending class. By November of 2002 when all applications had been sent in, many seniors felt as if they were done with their entire high school careers. In following months, “once you [get] your acceptance letters, what’s the point in continuing with unimportant little worksheets? I mean, it’s over…period!” complained Dina Sirotkina. Moreover, as the final year of high school drew to a close, some seniors were just beginning to tie up knots and establish undiscovered comradeship with other students. The whole year they had been stressing over tests, college applications and senior projects, but they finally got the chance to make final memories with the entire senior class. Activities like the senior trip to Catalina, the senior barbeque in the beginning of the year, and the awards ceremony and senior banquet combined at the closing of the year, offered opportunities to enjoy the company of their classmates. Some seniors found themselves wondering why they hadn’t spent more time with a certain person. Regrets aside, seniors were able to mend conflicts and create new friendships with each other as well as with underclassmen. Senior year was a dichotomy of stress and new experiences. It was a year during which seniors anticipated, prepared for, and accomplished short-term projects and activities, and paved the paths to achieve long-term goals. “…In the end, after everything is said and done, you realize just how precious this has all been, and that you would go through all the stress, money problems, and worry all over again just to relive that moment,” said Johannes Sanchez.