The Overachiever Has Been Overachieved

As you may have realized by now, I am a bit of an overachiever.  I try my best at things and I usually succeed.  This lifestyle goes way back to my school days.  I always did all my homework and I never skipped school.  I got good grades.  While I only managed to get straight A’s once, I  usually earned mostly A’s with a stray B or two.  Never a C.  I graduated 30th in my high school class of 1100.  I graduated from college with honors and I finished grad school with high honors.  I did well on my SATs and MATs.  You get the idea.

One thing, though, that I wasn’t able to do was become a member of the National Honor Society.  You see, I had this D once.  It was in geometry in 10th grade and it was only for one term but it was enough to make me ineligible for NHS at my school.  This hasn’t necessarily bothered me but I’ve always felt like a failure when it comes to this part of my high school experience.

Are you wondering where I’m going with this?

hannah_sept_08

(this picture is from last September, it’s one of my favorites of Hannah)

Last night Hannah was inducted into the National Honor Society.  Hannah has always been a good student but she works hard for her grades.  And I think it’s probably been a little difficult to live up to her mother’s legacy.  Not now, though.  Now she’s done something I never managed to do.

And suddenly it just doesn’t matter anymore that I wasn’t in NHS because now my kid is.  And I think that’s even better.  In fact, I couldn’t be more proud.

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This Post Has 66 Comments

  1. That is fabulous! Congratulations to Hannah, and to her proud mom!

    The thing is, you’re both “achievers.” “Overachieving” implies that you achieved more than you deserved – not true when the goal is attained through hard work!!

  3. Congratulations Hannah and Carole. Hannah got where she is by having a great Mom that is proud of her. Sounds like time for a celebration.

  4. Congratulations Hannah! To tell you the truth the grades came easily for me but I think it’s much more meaningful when you have to work for it and you get more out of it in the long run. Great job!

  10. Congrats Hannah! This will look great on college apps and of course, Carole and Dale— beaming much? 🙂

    I love NHS, but I hated the bake sale. ha ha ha.

  13. Hazaar! We always want the best for our children and this is a such a nice accomplishment. So your daughter’s beauty is not just on the outside, she has a fine mind as well, how fortunate you are to be blessed with such a child.

  15. *gulp* The love and pride you have for Hannah spills out all over your writing–it’s beautiful (and so is she!) Congratulations to her (and a big hug to you, Mom.)

  18. Hip-hip hooray for Hannah!! That is just wonderful!! And to the parents who support her – well, three cheers for you as well! Group hug (and photo?!)

  24. Congrats to Hannah! What an amazing girl!

    And congrats to her parents – you certainly had a hand in how she is turning into a great adult.

  26. Congratulations, Hannah! Well done!

    Carole, I know where you’re coming from. I had to repeat my ACTs at age 40 when I went back to school. I took them the same month my eldest daughter did. Talk about pressure on the two of us! We both did very well, and by now I can’t recall who came out one point ahead.

  36. Kudos! What a wonderful accomplishment. I love the induction ceremony. So traditional and seldom a dry eye in the house. What a lovely event for you all!

  38. Congratulations to both of you! What a great post….it was wonderful to read it.

  39. Congratulations to Hannah! That’s a great accomplishment. I’m trying to remember my induction ceremony. I think I skipped it. (Yes, I was an overachiever, but also a pain in the ass about certain things. I guess not much has changed.)

  40. I got A’s, graduated second in my class of 400 and never was NHS either. I don’t remember getting a letter asking me to apply. Maybe my mom accidentally threw it out thinking it was junk mail. I don’t know what happened….

    But congratulations to Hannah. It’s not just grades… its community involvement, school involvement and leadership too. right? Way to go!

    My DD made it in this past fall. I’m very proud of her. (I’m proud of myself for not throwing out the first piece of NHS mail she got — I’m like my mother that way).

  41. congratulations to hannah! that’s such great news 🙂 you should be so proud.

  46. I hear you! Like you, I had excellent grades except for one D – mine was in a semester of Chemistry. And I think for some reason I may have been in National Honor Society even with that D. Must have had different criteria at my school.

    However, I did not make National Merit Scholar Finalist, but my daughter did! We do feel more pride in our children’s achievements than our own, don’t we?

  47. Congratulations! I laughed about paragraph 1 because you also described me… but then that D I got was in 4th grade, and for conduct, so I got into the same group as Hannah. It meant little to me. But to have my kid do it? Now THAT would mean a lot!

  48. especially when the little shit (in 7th grade now) is again in trouble for jokes interpreted as threats, this time about a bomb…

  50. Congratulations to you all! Having been more of the good grades, little effort type, NHS was kind of meaningless. Seems to me the kids who work to get there are the ones that really deserve to be honored.

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