What does it takes to be an honor student? What benefits can you get from being one of it? Every student dreams to be on the list of honor students and garner different awards for it brings happiness to both self and parents. However it takes a lot of effort, time and patience. You need to study everyday and do advance reading, do every assignment and pass project, participate to different school activities and bring a crown for your school, and aim to get a high grade. If you are on the list, it gives you a lot of pressure to stay on the spot both from school by having a lot of competitor and from your parents who have a lot of expectations on you. Sometimes you tend to lose time for yourself and to your family because all of it was taken by your goal to stay on the position. In addition, you are being hated by your classmates if you don’t let them cheat from you and being a good student to your teachers. Then, you lose friends because of the competition and when you are hated by your classmates. Worst of all, you are branded as a nerd and you will be bullied for being that one. Despite all the extra efforts needed and negative things, being an honor student sends you to various places, allows you to gain experiences and friends, and gives you a lot of lifetime opportunities.
First and foremost, to be part of the honors’ list sends you to different places to compete and represent your school. I was able to go to different schools in our town and compete in different competitions like Limba-an National High School which I rarely go to. Like LNHS, Sto, Tomas, Davao del Norte is a place I rarely go to in my entire elementary and secondary life and always dreamed of. But when the Peer Facilitator Training was conducted in that place, I was able to become one of the representatives from our school that was sent by our school. I’ve even said to myself when I arrived there, “this is a dream come true.” When I was in 4th year high school, my journalism career sends me to different places. During the division level of Schools Press Conference, I was able to go to Asuncion National High School and even made a short tour in their municipality as a treat from my coach when we won in the competition. After that, we travel to University of Immaculate Conception, Bajada, Davao City and compete in the regional level. There, during the awarding, tears were overflowing on me and my teammates for we won the place and also a dream come true for us. The farthest of them all, were Taguig City that the National Elementary and Secondary Schools Press Conference 2015 was held after winning the RSPC in Davao. I remembered that the first words that I said after landing in NAIA airport is, “this is cloud nine.” We even have our tour in the city and visited some landmarks like Luneta Park, Libingan ng mga Bayani, Filipino-American Cemetery, and many more.
In addition, it enables you to have memorable experiences and new friends. Handling different organizations and positions made this possible. I was a member of the First Aider team of our school, New Corella National High School. I was able to make friends with the students from other sections and lower years. I can still vividly remember the training from the Red Cross team of our municipality. I have brought the memories with me up to now not just in my mind but as well as in my heart for it was flooded with laughter and lessons especially when we performed the fireman’s carry. I was also being elected as the President of Youth for Environment in Schools Organization in our school, our district, and our division. Environmental awareness and passion are the things we develop as a team and leaders that we are even tied by our advocacy and our friendship. And being the editor-in-chief of Ang Tagahanap made my 4th year life colourful like a rainbow. I always have good time everytime all the student journalist of our school paper have meetings cause we all do stuffs that is really fun that we even bully each other but in the end we’re still friends. My co-student journalist is my second family were they know me very well and it is very hard for me to lose connection from them. I even cried when I came back knowing that the family we have are facing its extinction, losing trust one by one, and acting that we didn’t know each other because of competition.
Most of all, it provides you lifetime opportunities that will help you grow as a student and a citizen. To begin with, lots of scholarships were offered to me that I was able to study in a prestigious and expensive university in Davao which is the Ateneo. I was able to get an academic scholarship from Ateneo, money assistance and scholarship from the alumni of my high school, and passed the examination for the DOST-SEI scholarship. Now, all the scholarships make me still study in AdDU and even uplift the burden of my parents. Having those scholarships allows me to buy my needs as a college student and to experience things I’ve wanted to. Also, continuous guidance from my high school teacher, advisers, and mentors helps you face life and college. Whenever we meet or I visit the school, they always remind me to do good things and give advices that really help me adjust faster in college. Lately, my mentor Ms. Karen Grace Sayon gave me advice about research paper and even helps me to choose a good topic. Last of all, I know that being a scholar gives you a good background together with the title of being an honor student, good job offers is clearly sure. My teacher once said to me, “good jobs are waiting for you because you’re an honor student and you’re even a scholar.” “Like my sister, the company of Monde offered her a job even she is still studying and now she is a junior supervisor of the company,” she added. It only indicates that being an honor student, decent job is not a problem at all because it is the one who comes to you.
Indeed, being an honor student gives you lot of benefits. Such being one of them allows you to travel to different places, to gain experiences and friends, and to have lifetime opportunities. It is both an honor and a responsibility to be on the list knowing the good things it brought to you. Based on my experiences, I know that being on the list never fails me to amaze and surprise everytime I gain what I gained and experience what I experienced. Everytime I think about my high school and elementary days, I always have this feeling of contentment and joy for I know I own that title because I dream of it and guidance of God. I never regretted to be one of them for it provided thrill and color to my life. Even if it needs a lot of extra effort and negative things. What then, do you think the other benefits you can get if you’re an honor student? Students should strive hard for their studies not just to become an honor student and get a high grade but for the learnings and experiences they will get from it. Students must realize how wonderful education is and being a good student doesn’t mean that you’re an honor student.
IThink! 