NJHS essay

IDK what to post so uhh have my essay from last year

I have lived for 13 years and I will hopefully live for many more. I have learned most lessons the “hard way,” and what I feel character means is not a simple ‘are you good or bad?’ It means that you strive to be good constantly, have integrity and a drive for learning. Character is an important pillar of NJHS because it means that getting straight A’s is not the only requirement for getting in; you also have to be an active member of a community which is another reason why this essay is so important. It can lead you to personally know the NJHS applicant.

One important part of having good character is being good consistently. I constantly struggle with feeling like I'm mostly too rude when I try to be stern and it's something that eats me up at night. I had been feeling like this when I got called down to the VP office and was presented my award as one of the two student ambassadors for honesty in the 7th grade, and I was ecstatic! But I soon learned that words on a laminated paper do not automatically make you a ‘good person’ when during the school musical I made a rude post on snapchat while a kid was getting stage fright. It was a huge lapse in judgement and I deleted it the next day, but it reminded me I was not perfect. However, that experience did assist me in building my character 

Another needed attribute for character is integrity, which to me means “doing the right thing even when nobody is watching you.” In 2024, after I had just moved to the Newburgh area, my mom introduced me to another girl my age in the complex who she said reminded her of one of my old friends. At first this new friend seemed to be a bit of a troublemaker, but she was still respectful and fun to hang around with…until she wasn't. A little bit of background on this: my Aunt Tiffany owns the complex and this girl would go on and on about how awful my aunt was even when I asked her to stop because she was family, so I would gradually stop hanging out with her so much.  During the second week of school, for instance,  I had gotten sick and after school she had asked me to hang out, to which I replied I couldn't because I was sick. Then she suggested we hang out by the stairs and I reinforced that I was sick.  Then sent me a voice message calling me nasty names and threatening me. I could have responded. I wanted to respond with my own paragraph about how nasty she was but instead I did the right thing and I blocked her. Even when she showed up to my house and cursed out my mother’s boyfriend I didn't say a single word to her. I did the right thing when nobody would've told me off and kept my integrity.

Lastly, you should have a drive for learning, which means improving yourself in some way. No matter what hard homework a teacher throws at you, if the class is wild and disrespectful, you still aim to learn. If you have a drive for making people feel better or for theatrical arts and anything in between there you go, that's your character, that's what drives you to learn about your passion. A strong part of that drive is pushing through rough assignments and classes which helps you later in the real world struggles you will later face. It prepares you for adulthood and that's why it's so important! Just because you have reached a good grade doesn't mean you're done. There is always more to learn in any class– from math to textile–and if you have a character where you give up as soon as you're “done” then you will ultimately fall flat on your face and have to work all the way back up. 

Character is an important pillar in the NJHS because having good grades alone should not be the only criterion for becoming a member of such a prestigious organization. A good society should not allow students in if they are rude to their peers and don't hold themselves accountable for their actions just because they happen to have a 92% or above. Requiring this essay helps you learn more about the applicant's character and I hope you take me into consideration as a member of the National Junior Honors Society.