I can say with confidence that my drive to overachieve has come from the praise the adults in my life have given me.“She’s doing her homework at the kitchen table right now, so I’m trying to keep my voice down. She’s the only kid in this house I actually see do their homework,” my stepmom whispered into the phone. “Everyone, see how red she is? I want you guys to be like her,” my dance teacher said as I was dripping in sweat during practice. “Notice how your sister does her homework? I’ve never once had to ground her for her grades,” my mom said to my brother while he was spending his night grounded due to his poor grades. “I want to show you how thankful I am for you committing to your school work. I never have to nag you to take school seriously” my dad says as he gives me money for my good grades. 

I choose my own school course load, without my parents’ input. The Honors and AP classes I have taken have been my personal choices. In the classes I take, the fear of my parents’ disappointment is what drives me to do well. I don’t face any tangible punishment for my academic choices at home. 

I love being used as an example, both in class and at home. This is what impels me to overachieve. For others, motives may be completely different. 

Junior Andrew Dai is taking all AP classes. As someone whose AP class limit is at one, I was genuinely curious as to what directed Dai to that path. 

“My brother was a bigger overachiever than me so that influenced me,” junior Andrew Dai said. 

Pressure to overachieve resulting from siblings’ achievements seemed to be prevalent. 

“[My parents] tell me to take advanced classes so I can be like my brother,” senior Pery Sandhu said. “He’s going to dental school.” 

Parents also seemed to be a common factor among students opting to take advanced classes. 

“My parents do influence my decisions regarding my course load,” senior Alyana Spence said. “They do their best to control [my classes], and if that is not possible, manipulate me into selecting what they desire.” 

Junior Jimena Saldivar also takes advanced classes with influence from her parents. 

“[My parents] encourage me to take harder classes and be involved in a lot of things, so it looks better for colleges,” Saldivar said. “Both of my parents are immigrants, so even if it gets stressful, I know they just want what’s best for me and would never push me harder than I could take.” 

Although some students take advanced classes because of encouragement from their parents, others are just interested in the subject. 

“I’m taking AP Bio because I’m alright at bio,” senior Aayush Gajakas said. “I’m taking AP Psychology because I was interested, but mainly because of my friends.” 

Senior Andie Carly also takes advanced classes based on her interests. 

“One of my advanced classes is AP Gov. I’m in that class because it’s one of the easiest AP classes you could take,” Carly said. “I’m also in AP Psychology, and I want to major in psychology, so it’s an easy way for me to get college credit.” 

I’ve always done well in school, partially because my parents would threaten me with punishments if I had a poor academic performance. If I had a C, my mom would threaten to ground me for the weekend and that’s all it took for me to fix it. If StudentVue said I had missing assignments, my phone was gone until I was caught up with my work, no matter how long that took. Students being grounded or facing punishments for poor grades is not uncommon. 

“If I have a C, my mom takes my car keys away for the day,” junior Andie Carly said. “Anything lower than a C results in my phone being taken.” 

While some fear their parent’s punishments, other’s fear the disappointment of themselves. 

“If I have a C, my mom takes my car keys away for the day,” junior Andie Carly said. “Anything lower than a C results in my phone being taken.” 

While some fear their parent’s punishments, other’s fear the disappointment of themselves. 

“I don’t face any repercussions from my family if I get a poor grade, but I do get disappointed in myself,” senior Aarushi Pore said. “I set higher expectations for myself than my family does.” 

It is common for some overachievers to hold themselves to a higher standard. 

“My family doesn’t act on my bad grades, I just become disappointed in myself. Especially when I know I could do better,” junior Andrew Dai said. 

It is definitely interesting to see the different reasonings behind what pushes students here at North to academically succeed. Some are hounded by their parent’s, while others are the ones that hold themselves to high standards. Regardless of what pushes them, all overachievers have the appetite of success in common. 

“I don’t face any repercussions from my family if I get a poor grade, but I do get disappointed in myself,” senior Aarushi Pore said. “I set higher expectations for myself than my family does.” 

It is common for some overachievers to hold themselves to a higher standard. 

“My family doesn’t act on my bad grades, I just become disappointed in myself. Especially when I know I could do better,” junior Andrew Dai said. 

It is definitely interesting to see the different reasonings behind what pushes students here at North to academically succeed. Some are hounded by their parent’s, while others are the ones that hold themselves to high standards. Regardless of what pushes them, all overachievers have the appetite of success in common.