The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization in the United States that recognizes outstanding high school students. The selection of this society is based on much more than just students with high grades or an honor roll, the NHS selects students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, and character, and honors them.
To be honest, this was the second time I had applied to the NHS. I had previously been invited to apply to this society, so last year, when I was a sophomore, I applied but I was not accepted.
I have to admit that this was very devastating. I perfectly remember the moment in which I was sitting down in my Design Technology class in 10th grade, and some current NHS members came into my class to “tap” the students who had been selected into the NHS that year with their induction letter. I, together with the members of my class who had also applied to this club, were super nervous and anxious, wondering if we had been accepted or not. Three NHS members entered my class, each one of them with a letter of induction. I tensely watched how the first one of them approached towards one of the students in my class and awarded him the first letter, wondering if one of the missing two letters would be directed to me. Then, the next member approached to another student in my class, and finally, the last member started walking towards me, getting my hopes up, until she handed over the final letter to the student sitting besides me. Although I was glad for those students that were meritoriously accepted into this society, I felt kind of jealous to be honest.
“The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.” ~Vince Lombardi
“Nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. It's a strengthening of his powers of accomplishment.” ~Thomas Carlyle
I carefully completed the application process, considering how I had excelled in areas of scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Completing this application required a lot of reflection, thinking, and honesty. I filled out all of the extracurricular activities I participate in, collected evidence, reflected on my involvement in community service, on my leadership skills, and discussed my character. This was definitely a thorough and competitive application process. I revised it and I uploaded it to Moodle.
A week or two passed, in which the NHS committee and various teachers were getting together to decide which students qualified to be a National Honor Society member. They took their final decisions and sent out 7 letters inducting 7 Junior members, and 9 letters inducting 9 Sophomore members.
I walked into my Homeroom class very anxious and kind of scared. The uncertainty was killing me, I wanted to know as soon as possible if I had made it into the NHS or not. I brought all of my hopes down before receiving the letter, as I was scared of getting disappointed again. I opened it. “...it is with great pleasure that we accept you into the FDR National Honor Society chapter!” The first thing I did was to send a picture of the letter to Whatsapp family group.
"Congrats!!! You make me really happy and fill me with pride" said my dad after I sent him a picture of my acceptance letter to the NHS.
The gratification I felt when I read this letter was great. I was happy I tried again after I had failed and I was glad I had been encouraged by my family and friends to do so. The induction ceremony was this Tuesday and indeed, I felt honored. The pride and happiness I was able to giveaway to my parents was priceless. Besides the satisfaction, the pride, the honor, and the happiness I feel by being a member of this society, this experience has also taught me a very valuable lesson: to never give up on something you desire, keep on trying and rising no matter the failures and setbacks that lie upon us.
“Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.” ~Theodore Isaac Rubin