I know, it's been a year...

...which just means I haven't had anything to complain about in a year. Isn't that nice. But I'm about to post something soon. Uh oh. 

Anyway, my arguing style has changed over the past year, and though I'd still make the same arguments today that I made last year, I'd do it a lot differently now. In fact, my style last year is honestly kind of cringe-inducing.

Also, I'm getting more views than I expected on that NHS rejection explication, so I just want to say that if you ever want to rip my ass apart in the comments, do it. I've only gotten positive remarks on my posts so far (not on this site), but I highly doubt everyone agrees with me. If you think you can prove me wrong, go ahead. I'm just a stupid 18 year old who forgot her calculator to her first SAT--I can't be that hard to beat. 

Well, I guess I can't claim that yet because I don't even know how well I can fight if nobody's even fought me yet. Whatever.

BS Explication: National Honor Society rejection letter (nhs-related rant part 2 of 2)

Warning: I haven't started writing yet, but this is probably going to be very long.

First, I would like to clarify that I'm not some stupid wannabe iconoclast who's just seeking out things to criticize to seem cool. I'm writing these commentaries because they come to my mind naturally, and it's just part of the perspective that I have. I criticize things because I see something wrong with them, not to seem different and snobby.

I've heard that some schools require students to write an essay or personal statement as part of the application to the NHS. My school's application, on the other hand, is just two pages full of boxes in which you fill in activities and hours, and they fall under three categories: leadership, out-of school and in-school activities. That's it. Shouldn't the signup protocol be a bit more uniform, especially for something with the word "national" in it? I mean, this wouldn't be as bad if it weren't for the claims that they made in their rejection letter. I originally wasn't intending to try to sign up again this year, but my mom forced me to (by the way, she actually said "JUST DO IT BECAUSE IT LOOKS GOOD"), so I decided to just do it for fun, knowing that I wouldn't get in anyway...and I didn't. Even though the rejection letter was the exact same one they sent last year, and even though I wasn't as serious about getting in this year, it somehow ticked me off even more this time. (...aaand here's where everybody jumps in going "OOOOH, SOUR GRAAAPES blah blah blah YOU'RE JUST BUTTHUUURT blah blah...")

So, now I'm going to pick it apart.

"I regret to inform you that the members of the faulty (sic) council were unable to select you for membership in the National Honor Society this year. The standards for membership are extremely high, and the faculty board take into careful consideration the strengths of each candidate in the four areas of scholarship, leadership, service and character. Each student who was considered demonstrated strengths in one, two, or three areas. However, only the students who demonstrated excellence in all four areas were selected for membership."

My first thought: "What the heck is a faulty board? Is it a group specifically assigned to pick out the faulty applicants? Ok, thanks a lot." (It's supposed to say "faculty", if you couldn't tell. I don't know, it took me a while. I'm dumb.) Anyway, the second sentence here is a bit contradictory. How is it even possible to take people into careful consideration--especially their CHARACTER--when the application sheet says so little about them? Each applicant is represented solely by their transcript and a list of activities. From this, the council judges whether or not you are fit for the next level of service. The only way to "carefully consider" people based on this information is to make a bunch of huge assumptions about them. 

"Know that to increase your chances of acceptance into the NHS you usually need to show a number of aspects about yourself. First, as much as you can you must have consistency in your volunteer service, a job, a sport, and/or something of the like from year to year."

Woah. You must have consistency? I'm pretty sure most people strive for consistency, but it isn't always easy for everybody to attain it. From my own personal experience, being consistent was a challenge. I joined cross country in freshman year and enjoyed it very much, only to be banned from taking part in any more sports after that season by my mom. She was afraid of me getting "health problems" and despised such "risky" activities as running in the rain. Since she's a natural hypochondriac with not the best health herself, I didn't dare put up much of a fight. However, I struggled to find a solid place in other extracurricular activities after that. So, although I did have several activities on my NHS application, there was barely any consistency. One could take one look at the first activity listed on my application, which was cross country, and correctly conclude that I quit; however, because there was no room for explanation or the human voice on the application, one would have to assume that I quit because I was uninterested, or uncommitted. A lack of committment demonstrates the  inability to be consistent. Due to the sheet's lack of freedom, they would never know my committment to running (in secret, of course) that cross country introduced me to, which that I have still sustained since quitting the sport. This isn't about me, though--this is about everyone with anything in their lives stopping them from being a <sarcastic tone>perfect, model NHS applicant</sarcastic tone>, but who still wants to and deserves to get in more than I did.

"Second, though it is not a requirement, being a leader is of benefit to you such as being a captain or co-captain of a sport, being an officer of a club, being an assistant manager at your job, or something that shows that you were in charge of people, places, products, etc. Third, it is important to remember that service and leadership are more impressive when they are a result of your own initiative rather than something you are doing to impress anyone."

Fair enough. Since leadership positions also aren't as accessible for some as they are for others, it's good that it isn't a requirement (which is actually surprising). However, the last sentence here is ironically saying "No need to impress anybody!" while the entire letter has been shouting "You have to do so-and-so to impress us!" the whole time.

"This is because the main mission of the NHS is to impact the entire community as a whole through initiatives and leadership."

Because of the "this is because", I feel like this translates to "If you haven't displayed much individual initiative, then you'll probably suck at making a difference in the community."

"Above all, remember to get involved. A desire to help others through the use of your talents is being a leader in its own right." 

Yes, I agree. But a desire is not good enough for you and your application sheet. You require a full manifestation of that desire that fits into one of your three categories. Desire comes with effort, but not always with an obvious display of it. What if someone's desire to help others existed only as an elementary idea, and they hoped that the NHS would have helped them make it a reality, only to get rejected because it wasn't something they could convey on such a limiting application?

That was the end of the letter, and before you complain that I'm asking too much of the NHS, I'm only suggesting a change as simple as an essay or personal statement added to the application. I know that humans aren't all psychic, and it's impossible for every applicant to be completely head-to-toe analyzed, and for every single piece of information about them to be considered. In fact, that would be a bit creepy.

A short essay in addition to the activity/leadership records would illustrate the interests and personalities of each applicant better. It would shine light on all of the people who are truly dedicated, rather than just those who are superficially dedicated.