With the warm weather of spring finally here, and summer right around the corner, many students on campus are finding it extremely difficult to carry on with business as usual these final weeks of school.

No, this is not another article on Senioritis; in fact, this is far more severe in my opinion, because many of these students struggling to find motivation are still underclassmen.

With the sun out and eight months of prep school rigor, including harsh winter storms and rainy days in the rearview, Wildcats are beginning to check out and get ready for the impending summer break.

English teacher Jacob Rivers recently brought up the topic in a junior class.

“I’m sure you’ve all heard of ‘Senioritis,’ but there is only one thing worse, and that’s ‘Junioritis,’” stated Rivers. Junioritis, Rivers told this 11th grade students, is when you are surrounded by seniors who don’t care as much at the end of the year, “and then you stop caring even though you don’t really have a reason to.”

A student feeling the distinct symptoms of this affliction is William Strout ’20.

“I am feeling pretty burnt out if I am being honest, but I’m pushing through because there isn’t much time left and I need to finish the year strong and am trying to keep a positive mindset,” William said.

Junior Sabrina Serricchio feels William’s pain, but agreed with him on the importance of putting in your best effort, even as May comes to a close.

“I think everyone is pretty worn out, especially considering this is some people’s third, fourth, or even fifth year here,” she said, “but it is extremely important to finish strong.”

Sabrina also spoke of the importance of not wishing away the days. “Despite the difficulty of the work,” she said, “you have got to try to enjoy the spring.”

Despite having two years left to go in his Williston career, Sophomore Nikita Tokarskiy, from Vladivostok, Russia, is beginning to feel a bit out of steam as well.

“It’s been a long year,” he said. “There was a lot I enjoyed, but it was difficult at times, and I am beginning to run out of energy.”

Nikita said he feels some of his teachers have picked up the pace and work load to complete some of the class requirements before assessment week.