Forget measles: the real plague sweeping the nation’s youth these days is senioritis. Seniors across the country are finally done with college apps and are now enjoying a much-anticipated increase in leisure time.

Though at many schools, this second semester slack-off may very well be a real epidemic, it has yet to infiltrate our ever-graceful halls in earnest. That’s right: senioritis at Marlborough is a myth.

Let’s take a moment to examine 7th grade me: polo tucked neatly into high-waisted gray skirt, eyes wide and ready to learn, heart practically glowing purple. I prance with purpose from class to class, giant clip-on bow balancing precariously on my tiny head. Soon, I learn proper time-management skills, and as the years pass and my homework load increases, I adapt.

In the throes of junior year, academic rigor levels are at an all-time high, and extracurricular activities eat up whatever free time school doesn’t. Nevertheless, I carry on, compensating for lost sleep with copious amounts of caffeine. First semester of senior year brings college apps, and so I continue my late nights and remain a familiar face at multiple local coffee shops. Now, in my final semester, I’m so accustomed to my Marlborough schedule that I honestly don’t know how to relax. Sure, I spend some nights browsing HBOGo or Asos when I should be writing an essay, but that’s just my way of stretching my one hour of homework over the customary five hours I’ve grown to know and accept.

My fellow seniors and I spend a ton of time sitting around at lunch or free, complaining simultaneously about our second-semester-induced lack of motivation and our homework-induced lack of sleep. It’s the Marlborough paradox: we may be a bit less stressed about the work we’re doing, but we’re still doing it, and we still care.

I credit this phenomenon, at least in part, to Marlborough’s culture of respect and appreciation between teachers and students. Through the years, we’ve developed strong relationships with our teachers. They’ve helped us grow and taught us how to be better. They set the bar high and make it their job to help us learn how to meet and exceed their expectations, so by the time we’re seniors, we are not only accustomed to performing at a certain level, but also compelled to, out of respect for our teachers. They put so much effort into teaching us, it seems only fair to reciprocate.

Though senioritis isn’t quite as dramatic as many of us expected (or hoped) it to be, there’s a certain ease to second semester that has made it possible for the class to shed some of its anxiety and competitiveness and just appreciate one another. With only a few months of togetherness left, we finally have the opportunity to really listen to our peers’ points in class discussions, appreciate their talents on display in the art gallery or on the soccer field and laugh at their jokes at lunch.

School is still demanding, but with all our apps submitted and our graduation shoes purchased, the class of 2015 is finally getting the chance to come together.