My Personal Statement to National Honors Society

I had to write this essay to National Honors Society, detailing just why we felt we deserved to be a part of the institution. This is what I wrote.

In my trekking along the voyage that is adolescence, one of the most plebeian patterns I have witnessed among my peers is their level of engrossment in frivolous conflicts and relationships, rather than their academics. Standards of this nature baffle me, and I am undisturbed in my judgment that I shall never comprehend them. My signification of this has dwelled within the cornerstone of my mind since my enrollment as a high-school freshman, but with the advent of National Honor Society I was bestowed with a wholly revived hue of light upon the subject. What would compel anyone - especially young minds, whom define my generation and will determine the future of it - to live out their lives without such virtues? One can surmise that their ontologies have been severely altered to give more concern toward living for the present, rather than what is yet to be, as can be seen with the conversion of the classical carpe diem opposed to the popular "YOLO." On account of these modifications aforesaid, it can be made ascertain that they have almost forgotten the "four pillars" of National Honor Society - or, as I have dubbed it, the "Trinity of Triumph": scholarship, service and character, and leadership.

           Out of all of the customs made traditional by those of my age group, perhaps the most periodic would be forming, keeping, tarnishing, and ceasing romantic relationships. While such practices are little to no of my concern, I perhaps will never fully comprehend the relevance behind it, especially when one so shortsightedly praises it upon a pedestal like a knight with a poor case of chivalry. My one and only true love has been, and hopefully forever will be, the Pursuit of Knowledge. I have been perpetual in my ventures to disclose my mind to further enlightenment, whether it be through expanding my linguistics in English, Latin, and French, acquainting myself to a plethora of Advanced Placement courses, or making it a personal avocation to read and watch inspiring essays and speeches by the likes of Neil deGrasse Tyson, J.K. Rowling, and Carl Sagan. Comparable to dance and music, knowledge is almost a form of art that reflects the delicacies within our world, and there simply is not a more satiable phenomenon in existence.

           At the beginning of the term, I notified myself that it was a necessity for me to become a representative for Amnesty International that year. Amnesty International is an egalitarian organization formed upon the principles of equality and the right to voice your judgments. I joined this association in hopes to make a difference in those who are denied the right of speech, and I aspire to do so by the end of the term, even if it is only one, because preserving one life opens to the door to preserving a million more. Even following high-school, I plan to remain with and advocate Amnesty International, whether from my home or across the world, in hopes to not only save lives, but to improve them, for we are defined by how we help others, not ourselves.

           Throughout my childhood, I was always instructed on the paramount of being a leader, not a follower. As well as the Pursuit of Knowledge, I aim to somehow make a difference in the world and to be remembered. As a whole, we, to a certain extent, desire to be like great people, such as Siddhartha Gautama, Sir Isaac Newton, and John F. Kennedy, who vastly improved the world through their beliefs. What the larger majority of these admirers do not know, however, is that they didn't achieve their status without any sort of profound performance; all of them, as well as other great figures, maintained their self-reliance and were determined to spread their reason to the rest of the world, despite the scapegoat consequence they may have received from those whom opposed them. Thus, they solidified that, even if you are alienated for what you believe is right now, someday you may be praised.

           "What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality." Plutarch was utterly oblivious to just how much those words would influence me in later years, upon hearing them. His words state that we must first discover and refine ourselves before we can discover and refine that which is around us. As he did, I try to carry out my time here on Earth with a optimism that is not half-full or half-empty, but to the brim with successes, failures, improvements, and all that makes us into the hopefully enthusiastic and wonderful people that we were meant to be. I plan to use this idealism, and the Trinity itself, to build a substantial and effective manner to live the remainder of my life, and for this, I believe I am more than qualified to be a part of National Honor Society. If my words still do not convince you, and if my statement proved to be a misuse of the paper provided, then perhaps the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson shall do so: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."