Thursday, February 5, 2009

Senioritis

In my english class we are discussing diversity, rules that are placed on people by society, or rules that we place on ourselves. In class we read the poem 'Girl' by Jamaica Kincaid, where it gave a list of rules that was necessary to follow to be the "perfect girl". In class we were given an assignment to make our own "Girl" poem based on the certain groups that we are place in by society or groups that we place ourselves in. I am happy to be part of the group labeled second semester seniors. Unfortunately, to be part of that group everyone is stricken by senioritis (basically, an incurable disease where you cannot do any work, you act out in class, etc. because you are tired of school and have been or will be accepted into college - just plain lazy, but for good reason!!) But to be in this idolized group of second semester seniors, there are still some required rules that you cannot break: texting in class, losing your assignment pad, talking out, forgetting to do homework, and showing up late to class. 

Have fun reading my poem and please post responses if you have senioritis or have seen student's affected by it.



Senioritis

Forget all the memories of acting studious; you will become a lazy second semester senior and you will succeed; lose your assignment pad, it’s the first step to forgetting everything that you should be accomplishing if you were not a senior; forget to charge your laptop each night so it won’t work during school and this is how you make the surprised face when your laptop is dead, this is how you sit in class when everyone has your laptop when you don’t; this is how you text in class without being caught, this is the story you tell the teacher when he or she catches you, this is the freaking sound you make when your phone is taken away, this is the demanding voice you use to get it back and this is the way you walk on your march down to the office and tell them a phony story of why it is vital to your life to have the phone now; this is how your face is when you pretend to listen in physics class, this is how you make obnoxious comments when you are in physics class, don’t forget to force the juniors to give you their labs because you are a senior and they now need to work for you; this is how you stretch your legs out in class, this is how you pretend you are awake or just rubbing your eyes when you are really asleep, this is how you wake up from a nap without being obvious in class, it's your right to be tired, you have been watching TV all night neglecting your homework; this is how you pretend to search for your homework when you know you did not do it; this is how to speed write last night’s math homework in the hallway right before class or right when you walk into the room, this is how you can't take the quiz because your calculator died, this is how to panic when the printer won’t work and you have had a month to do the essay or turn your essay in at 11:59 p.m. on turnitin.com; this is how you walk into class when you are late returning from lunch, this is your teacher’s face when you are late from lunch, this is the story you make after you walk into a teacher’s class late, these are the curse words you let slip forgetting you are in school: F^©&, S%*+, $!u+; this is the route you enter school when you try to slip past Mr. P because you were getting Dunkin Donuts, this is the noise your alarm makes after the fifth time you pressed snooze; this is the snotty way you carry yourself because you are a senior and you have that right; don’t let other people get in your way, you own the school; this is the speech you will have with your parents when they see your third and fourth marking period grades and this is the speech you give when you say you still deserve an amazing graduation present because you worked hard for three and a half years; when you finally pick your college you start not even showing up to school, this is the face you make when it is June 25th, these are the things you say on June 25th; this is what has become of your class of 2009; this is what will become of the class of 2010.


Hel'um has 26 different articles that discuss ways to motivate seniors. 

6 comments:

  1. This poem is so true about what happens when you get into college and you no longer care about high school work anymore. Now that midterms are over i feel the exact same way. You're poem is also well written and I really enjoyed it.

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  2. Solana, this poem was SO true for me and most other seniors I'm sure. Once Senioritis kicks in (nice picture by the way), there's really nothing left to do but sit back ad enjoy your last year of high school.

    "...this is how you pretend to search for your homework when you know you did not do it..." Haha... I guess I'm not the only person who has done that for math and science classes?

    I also love how the poem kind of comes "full circle," continue the epidemic of senioritis with the incoming junior class. Nicely done. =)

    --Vanessa

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  3. I loved your poem!! I think teachers need to beware when full blown senioritis kicks in... they are just getting a taste right now. I know I am acting in the same way now that midterms are through. SENIORITIS LIVES ON!

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  4. Solana Solana! This poem is pretty much what my life (and our entire classes lives) has come to. Senioritis is not a myth and is a very serious thing. Once you get into college, the year (academically speaking) is over! Thank you for writing your poem about this topic it really made me feel that I was not the only one who was suffering from Senioritis.
    -Jacob

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  5. Solana! This poem is so true for seniors, especially second semester ones, including myself. Senioritis really hits once we have been accepted to college (or the one we are planning to go to, that is). I think this was a great topic to write a poem about, considering that this affects every senior, today. I know that this is supposed to be written about a stereotype, but i guess all of us seniors fit that stereotype well.
    I especially enjoyed reading the part about physics when you said, "this is how your face is when you pretend to listen in physics class, this is how you make obnoxious comments when you are in physics class." (since physics is truly our favorite subject).
    -Melissa

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  6. One of the reasons that I love this poem is that any senior can relate to it! It's witty, it flows nicely, and I it's very descriptive. It covers lots of different aspects of "senioriris" which makes it easy for people to follow along and agree. While some people took a more serious approach to the poems, it's nice to read a few funny ones. Yours is definitely entertaining.

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