The Truth Behind High School Reports

Lincoln
Ms. Diana
Advanced Placement Literature
June 10th, 2012

The Truth Behind High School Reports

Blood sweat and tears are the only true measures for effort and ability. Unfortunately for me, there is no check box for any of these indicators on a high school transcript, there is only room for S.A.T. scores, class rank, and grade point average. If only that single piece of paper could describe; all of my weekends spent working towards Eagle scout, my countless weekdays spent coaching youth baseball, or any of the ten plus clubs and activities I am involved in, maybe my true effort and ability would be revealed.

A high school record transforms you from a human being, full of passion and soul, into a bunch of meaningless numbers. Numbers that fail to compensate for the intangibles, the things that make you, you. The things that got you through a loss of a family member, the things that made you determined enough to win a national competition, a thing called passion. Passion has built the pyramids, it has put man on the moon, and it has a funny way of trumping logic and numbers to achieve something great.

The blood sweat and tears I shed everyday of my life to stay active in my community, school, and nation can never be represented on a piece of paper. That piece of paper will never be able to explain the weekends I willingly sacrificed to prepare my troop for the West Point camporee at the United States Military Academy. It will never reveal the amount of leadership or physical sacrifice given that weekend to win the coveted Silver Saber (the first place trophy at the West Point Camporee) out of over 5,500 other participants. Again that funny thing called passion drove me and my troop to victory.  

There may be a spot on a resume to write the clubs and activities I participate in, but it is only a single line. One line does not begin to explain the countless days of practice and work It took to win four section titles. Where do I write the amount of summer days I spent working with my coach to become the JV football quarterback that got pulled up to varsity the year we won sections? Where do I fill in the blank for social events skipped or fast food opportunities missed to stay in shape for a championship track season? There is only one generic spot for “__ years played” that doesn’t reveal the sacrifices I made each and every sports season to be the best. These may not represent me well but not all of what I do isn’t represented.

Only a select few of the activities including National Honor Society, Order of the Arrow, and Boys’ State that truly reveal the leader I am. National Honor Society I feel actually carries weight on a resume. It accepts those who maintain a good grade point average, demonstrate leadership, are active in the community, and who are people of integrity. These are all qualities I demonstrate and are the reason I am in NHS and was also selected to Boys’ State. A highly competitive program that selects one candidate per American Legion Post to represent them in a statewide leadership seminar. The board interviewing me was impressed with my resume, but didn’t truly understand me until they heard the stories behind every line on that page. Actually meeting me and asking me questions allowed them to understand I was the right person to represent them.

Thats the reason high school transcripts don’t accurately reflect my effort and ability is they don’t include anything personal. If I could sit down with anyone reviewing my high school report, and explain the blood sweat and tears sacrificed on events like winning the Silver Saber I think they would get a much better understanding of who I really am. Until then, my report will just be a bunch of black and white marks on a piece of paper that equivalents to some generic number for an admission team to analyze.