Q: Do your parents play a role in you being an honors student?

EG: I think they definitely did at first. Both of my sisters were way overachievers, so I just kinda felt like I had to do that too. But I talked to them about it because there are certain classes where I feel like I just can’t pass if I take it as an honors class while keeping an A, because that’s the grade I want to keep. They don’t really care as long as I try my best, so that’s good to know now. But I didn’t know that when I made my schedule with all honors classes.  

Q: What do you think teachers don’t understand? 

EG: I don’t think they understand that: first of all I’m not in an honors class because I care about the subject material necessarily, I’m in it because of the weighted grade. So when teachers say stuff like “Oh well you’re in honors, so you should want to be here,” that doesn’t really change how I feel about it. I also think they need to understand that I have seven other classes and are assigning me two hours of homework every night. It’s just not gonna get done. I go to bed sometimes with just homework not done, because I can’t physically do anymore. 

Q: Did you choose to be an honors kid? Do you regret it?

OB: I definitely chose to be an honors kid. I came from a private middle school where everyone was, more or less, expected to do well in almost every subject. I also had friends with older siblings who had been honors students. My mom was also a public school teacher, so she recommended that I take honors classes to at least be a little challenged. So far, I don’t really regret my decision for the most part.  

Q: How often do you feel unmotivated to do something?

OB: I feel unmotivated to not do work a lot. If I’m being honest I get anxiety about not being prepared for something and not getting something done. So that kinda motivates me to finish my work early. But I also like spending time at home without having to worry about doing certain projects or homework. 

Q: Is academic validation part of you continuing to be an honors student?

EJ: Yeah I think it is, and I think it is for most honors students because I think it’s about being able to just be the step above and get the grades you need. You’re mostly doing it because you want to go further, and you want to have a better record. It’s mostly about academic validation.  

Q: What stresses you out the most? 

EJ: When I get a lot of homework or stuff to do, and I realize that it’s all due within the next few days and then I just realize that I don’t have enough time to do it so I’m spending the night trying to finish homework, and finding all my sources, basically doing everything that I can because I don’t want to fall behind because if you miss one assignment you’re just gonna keep missing them, so it’s really hard to keep up. 

Q: Do you get stressed when your grades aren’t perfect?

GK: Yeah definitely. My intention has always been trying to get the A. Trying to get the best score I possibly can, which isn’t always the case. Sometimes I forget to turn in an assignment. Sometimes I just don’t do well and I don’t get an A, and I don’t get a good grade. That causes stress not having the best grade, the ideal grade that you want.  

Q: Do you ever want to quit?

GK: Yeah definitely. In weeks where there’s a lot of work and the assignments are really difficult. I do definitely feel the urge just not to do anything, [and] to ignore it all. 

Q: Is it hard or stressful to manage your workload?

EH: Occasionally yeah. It really just depends on how the schedules of each class mix up. Cause sometimes you have 27 assignments due one day and the next day you might have literally nothing. It varies by day so occasionally yeah, occasionally not. 

Q: Do you think honors classes have contributed negatively to your mental health?

EH: Probably, as they’re just kinda a lot of extra work. Because teachers feel “oh it’s an honors class” which means that there must be more work, even though that work is just there. It doesn’t really help anybody involved at all, and that’s just more stuff to stress about. All in all, I would assume it’s probably affected my mental health negatively.