<p>In order to be inducted into NHS at my school, we need to write a one-page paper explaining why we have good character. Here’s what the requirements say:</p>
<p>“According to the National Honor Society, the student of good character upholds principles of morality and ethics, is cooperative, demonstrates high standards of honesty and reliability, shows courtesy, concern and respect for others and generally maintains a good and clean lifestyle.”</p>
<p>The application isn’t due until May 11 but I wanted to get a head start. I think I may need to tweak it in order to fit more of those traits, which can be easily done, but it’s more difficult to fit into a one-page (1.5 spaced) essay. Here it is:</p>
<p>"It is two-twenty-six. I pick up my books, walk out of my D Block classroom, and continue on to my locker, where I watch students pack their bags, anxiously awaiting the trips in theirs cars, buses, or even on feet, that will take them home. Me? Well, I also pack my bag, but only to walk a few hallways away to the girls’ swim team locker room. As I enter the small room that I perhaps spend as much time in as my own bedroom, the sweet smell of chlorine wafts to my nose. My day has just begun.</p>
<p>As a student, athlete, and teenager, life often seems unmanageable. The eight page paper, the next big swim meet, the yearbook assignment, the website. Everyday my thoughts constantly flutter from one task to the next and I wonder in which order I should complete them. As a high school junior with a precise, almost hour-by-hour (or, dare I say it, minute by minute?) schedule, time management is a necessary aspect of my life. While many teenagers sit in front of their computers, mere victims of the unfortunately widespread disease we like to call procrastination, I have a task, I approach it in a certain way, and then I finish it, and I finish it well. </p>
<p>How do I juggle so many activities at once? Well, as a dedicated athlete, practicing takes concentration. Every stroke, lap, and flip turn needs to be attacked with focus and determination in order to be done correctly. School assignments, yearbook work, and Webmaster websites must be, and in my case, are, approached in the same way. As my senior year comes closer, I can proudly say that I have qualified for Districts each year thus far, have kept a consistent GPA, become co-editor of the yearbook and co-Webmaster of _________ School District. These titles, which may mean little to some, are not bragging rights to me. They are, rather, reasons why I can be proud of myself for going above and beyond my expectations. Without such focus and determination, characteristics that not all high school students possess, I do not believe that I would be as successful as I am in every aspect of my life."</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>