There is something going around lately. One person catches something and passes it on to someone else. It is an epidemic. It is…senioritis!

This chronic virus does not just affect seniors. It can affect any college student.

You may have multiple symptoms that indicate you have senioritis. Here are the symptoms of having such a detrimental disease:

The main symptom is that the first time you open your books is the day before an exam. It is a severe case if the book has not even been taken out of its plastic.

The second symptom is that you choose sleep over doing any homework. You try to stay optimistic and say to yourself, “I will wake up in the morning and finish my homework.” What actually happens is you wake up 10 minutes before your class starts.

Another indicator that you have senioritis is you are often asking for extensions and do not mind turning in your homework late.

A fourth symptom of this epidemic that is going around is you depend heavily on your group members to remember information and to read for the class discussion.

The final symptom of senioritis is that when you actually go to class, you take two sentences worth of notes and are lackluster in the participation area.

Those are the main symptoms. But just like any other disease there is a remedy.

I talked to a couple of students who had some ideas on how to refocus before it is to late to bring back up their grades.

“What I usually do is play my guitar and relax to gain back my focus,” said Thomas Davies, a senior English major. “It helps to do something that you have a passion for and then go back to your work with a clear mind.”

Alana Redd has a different point of view on how to gain focus academically.

“I know that the worse I do academically, the longer I have to stay here,” Redd said. “I can’t afford to be failing classes. That is how I gain my motivation and refocus myself academically.”

Many times you realize that you are not working up to your potential.

The first thing you may want to do is change your environment. You may be distracted in your apartment or residence hall room. You can try to study in the library or another place that is not filled with distractions. If you want to study in your own room, I would suggest unplugging the television and turning off the phone.

Another thing that is worth trying is breaking up your homework so you are not working on too much work the night before classes.

Finally, enjoy free time. Just thinking about how much work you have to do can be overwhelming and can discourage you from doing your work. Take some time to do something you enjoy and then go back to your homework.

It’s time to put an end to the senioritis epidemic. Use the remedies that have been provided.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.