For as long as "honors" has been an option in school, I've been in at least one class under that label--usually English classes. At first, I didn't really know what it meant or what the big deal was, and I noticed that a lot of my peers would have bitterness and talk venomously about those uppity "honors" students. I generally felt ashamed of being in any sort of honors or advanced placement course during the first couple of years of high school, but when senior year came around, I was placed into five AP courses and my perspective began to change. My view really changed when I received an invitation to the Honors College at Purdue which also offered me scholarship money.
At that point, I understood what being an honors student really means.
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Being an honors student is more than just natural ability--which does play some part in it, but it's mostly about dedication and work ethic. Honors is a way for academic-oriented individuals to keep pursuing bigger goals and keep pouring their energy into their schooling--which is an admirable effort. Honors programs like to reward students for the sheer quantity and quality of work and time and effort put into it and it is very much a matter of getting back however much you put into it.
In high school, I still felt a bit ashamed of being an honors student simply because other students talked badly about those in honors and AP courses. They were derogatorily called "overachievers" and were said to be elitist and snobby, and I didn't want to be associated with such negative talk. I'd often say that I'd get good grades "without trying," "without studying" or "without doing homework," but the truth was I did try, I did study and I did do my homework. I was pretty intense with it all at home where none of my friends could see. I worked hard, and my efforts were reflected in my grades. Whoever reviewed my application to Purdue recognized that effort and put me on the track to receive scholarships and to enter the honors program.
That's just it, though. Hard work and effort. Only a very small portion of being an honors student has to do with natural ability. It practically has everything to do with hard work. Theoretically speaking, anyone could be an honors student if they put in the time and effort necessary to meet the requirements, but not everyone has enough energy and time to do so while balancing the rest of their life and adult responsibilities and others simply don't desire to do so. And that's fine. I'm not better than anyone else just because I'm an honors student, I just simply choose to put time and effort into meeting certain requirements and standards in my schooling. It seems like a valuable use of my time and energy considering the fact that I receive scholarship and study abroad opportunities as a result, and those are incentives that I have chosen to pursue. Others have different priorities in their life and in their schooling--who am I to say that my way is better?
What being an honors student has taught me is that everyone has different priorities in their life and that anyone can be an honors student if that's something that they want to prioritize. It has nothing to do with being an elitist snob who is just so naturally gifted and earns all these rewards without even trying. It's about trying and sometimes failing. It's about hard work and dedication to responsibilities. Lots of people fall under this category without being part of an honors program, but they work just as hard. They're just as worthy of admiration. They're just as amazing. Students are amazing.
