On Tuesday, September 16^th, the National Honor Society seniors joined together to celebrate their prior achievements and prepare for a hopeful future.  At their annual Potluck Supper, NHS advisors Ms. Stansbury and Mr. Bausch hosted a fantastic event where current members looked back on the past year and learned about upcoming events and deadlines.

The highlight of this night, however, was not the meeting, nor the much-anticipated portfolio returns, nor the food—though the varied dishes brought by members were quite delectable.  No, the highlight of this evening was the camaraderie shared between advisors, officers, team leaders, seniors, and parents.  It’s not often when a diverse group of students can come together to break bread, to share a meal, to commune as one body.  

Honor.  Some of us may know honor from the Star Trek Klingon Worf (sorry, that reference might be a little out of this world).  Some of us may know honor from the words of Cicero, that “honor is the reward of virtue.”  Wherever we learned first about honor, though, we must remember that it is always our choice to exhibit it.  Whether or not we honor our families, our school, our ancestors, our nation, or what-have-you, makes no difference.  So long as we act with honor, we are establishing a novel paradigm in our communities—the standard that each and every one of us is of value, that every one of us is deserving of respect, that every one of us is worthy of honor.

As we discussed at that Potluck Supper, the National Honor Society is designed to assist students in exhibiting that trait.  If one exercises each of the four pillars—scholarship, service, leadership, character—to the best of his ability, then that individual is taking the first step towards leading an honorable life.  That is why we place such a large emphasis on serving the community and school.  By helping out the less-fortunate, by being a role model for the young, by exhibiting traits of the highest character while not expecting anything in return, we can truly change our world.

So, reflecting on this recent NHS meeting, I am compelled to make the conclusion that every one of us should have the personal goal to advance the honor of ourselves and that which we hold dear.  Just as the seniors gathered together for the first time on September 16^th, so must we all come together in dedication to a better school, a better community, and a better world as the 2014-2015 school year continues.