Help me! Appealing to stay in NHS.

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>So, I was dumb. This is all my fault, and I'm not looking for affirmation of anything otherwise. Also, I'm sorry for the wall of text.</p>

<p>In December, the meetings for Anchor Club and NHS fell on the same day. As I am the president of Anchor Club, I chose to prioritize the former over the latter, and as such, started a chain of events that led to my current situation.</p>

<p>I had little to no contact with other members of NHS, but I assumed that I would just receive an email notification regarding service projects and meeting dates. Apparently, I was wrong. Throughout January, my inbox remained empty, and I merely assumed that the number of snow days that my school took off caused the club to get off track.</p>

<p>In February, I did receive one email - "No meeting this month due to snow days!" Again, I shrugged it off. Then, on the second Thursday of the month, I opened my inbox to see another message - "The meeting is back on!" .. five hours ago. That shook me a little, but still, I sent nothing back but a quick "oh no! I'm sorry, I didn't see this last night."</p>

<p>Now, I probably could have remedied this by just talking to my instructor, but I'm a dumb teenager, so of course that never crossed my mind. Honestly, I was intimidated, and the deeper I sank, the more anxious I got about stern talks and lectures. </p>

<p>I do suffer from an anxiety disorder, but I offer that merely as explanation and not as an excuse - I really regret not meeting with her.</p>

<p>Today, I walked into the meeting (literally) shaking in my boots. I had messed up immensely, and I knew that much, but perhaps it would get better - I brought in nearly $40 worth of items for our monthly service project ($40 that I could hardly afford), and I was completely prepared to grovel. After all, I hadn't gotten a letter of suspension, right?</p>

<p>Again, I was stupid. That letter was waiting for me at the door.</p>

<p>I suppose it took getting the metaphorical boot for me to realize how stupid I have been. True, I may have said on this site many times that NHS doesn't matter, but I want my parents to be proud of me, want them to see me graduate in that stole. Honestly, I've considered not walking just for that reason.</p>

<p>My chances of getting reinstated are not good, and I realize that, but I plan to appeal. Do you have any tips?</p>

<p>Prior to this mistake, I participated in every service project offered, if it helps. This includes those that occurred over the summer.</p>

2

<p>NHS, as in National Honor Society?</p>

<p>Really?</p>

<p>I refused to join.</p>

3

<p>That’s the one! I know, I know, and I generally have the same attitude, but I want my parents to be proud of me, and they won’t be if I don’t at least try to fix this.</p>

4

<p>At my school, we can skip meetings (a lot of people have) but we need to bring excuse letters. So I would have the sponsor of Anchor Club (idk what that is) write out a letter concerning your participation and maybe bring a transcript/report card with your most up-to-date grades on it and present them to the NHS sponsor.
And let them know how much time/money you have put into NHS. Not defensively though, just to show you care. (It does suck that you spent that much for just them; it’s not worth it.)
Just try to show them that you’re not a bad kid and you just have other obligations. If you don’t get back in, really, it’s no big deal. NHS is not that much of an honor.</p>

5

<p>If it’s giving you this much trouble, NHS is not worth it. Scratch that, NHS is never worth it. </p>

6

<p>Yeah, don’t worry about NHS. I don’t know about your school, but the one at mine never actually does anything and I don’t think colleges take it that seriously. Several of my friends didn’t join/didn’t make the cut for whatever reason and they got into places like Yale and Chicago early, so I don’t think it’ll make or break your applications. </p>

<p>If you really want, you can try talking to whoever’s in charge and seeing if they’ll let you back in, but even if they don’t, you’ll be fine! Continue volunteering and doing service projects on your own. Besides, Anchor Club sounds a lot cooler. </p>

7

<p>ok, I’m bringing this thread up again because I need your help.</p>

<p>After a while, I had accepted the fact that I was out. I still, however, haven’t mustered up the courage to tell my mother. She’s the sort of person who only sees things in black and white - that is, either you’re a good daughter in NHS or a bad daughter who isn’t. At the moment, I’m barely maintaining a constant lie - not only do I feel guilty, but I know that I’m going to be caught as soon as the senior award ceremony rolls around on May 20th.</p>

<p>That isn’t why I’m here again, though. In my original thread, I said that ‘the letter was waiting for me at the door’ - this, in hindsight, was a bit of figurative language. My teacher verbally told me that I was out, but I didn’t receive my letter of dismissal then and there.</p>

<p>The problem? I still haven’t received a letter. I can’t appeal if I’m not technically out to begin with, but I can’t wear the stole if I’m not officially in. I’ve gone to my teacher multiple times, but she’s usually out - she promised a month ago that she would send it to my first period, but still, there’s no letter.</p>

<p>What can I do?</p>

8

<p>To be honest, and this is just one opinion (not the only way to go about this), I would try to sit down with your parent(s) and fix the bigger issue. As others have said, you are fine not being in NHS, it really means little to nothing. What will help you in life beyond this is to get your mom to see that things aren’t all black and white. Have an honest and well thought out conversation, and say exactly what’s on your mind. I am very confident she will understand, and any anxiety over these types of issues will go away with that understanding.</p>

<p>If you are a senior, completely forget about NHS. It really means nothing at this point. If you are a junior, just make sure you know where you stand by the end of the year. If you want back in you can always go for it, but I personally wouldn’t. It is such a common EC that colleges don’t really care. Maybe the ivies and near, that’s it. I got into 3 Top 50 US News schools without it.</p>

9

<p>Have you tried talking to any NHS officers (president, vice president, etc.) to ask if the letters have been sent out yet? You could try talking to the sponsor of Anchor club, like one of the other CC-ers said, and see if you can get a letter to explain the situation. I know what it’s like to have president duties keep you away from other meetings, and your sponsor should be able to help you get it straightened out. If you can’t get ahold of the NHS teacher in person, do you have her email address? </p>

<p>As for your mother, I know that feeling. You could probably convey it as a misunderstanding, because honestly, it kind of is. (I don’t see any reason that they had to kick you out of NHS.) And honestly, I’m sure you’re in a lot of other EC’s that are more worthwhile than NHS. </p>