Biggest Workaholic

I was doing my AP Calc BC packet questions (Since I'll be gone Thursday), and I was just thinking that since I totally have the entire weekend to do these, why am I doing them now? Which sort of brings me to the whole senioritis + work ethic issue. My friends totally voted me Biggest Workaholic for senior superlatives, and I guess I sort of understand. Even though I say I have senioritis, I still haven't missed a single homework assignment. I haven't studied for tests (econ test and psych final tomorrow, hah), and I procrastinate and get distracted a lot more, but I still turn in all my work and I do all of it relatively well. I even go crazy and do assignments ahead of time sometimes. It sort of got me wondering why I do this...

When I was little, it was all about pleasing my parents, and getting good grades made them happy. At least, it didn't make them disappointed, as they would have been if I ever got anything under a 4 (back when we were graded 1-4 and not with letter grades). So doing my homework seemed like a good thing, since it made me feel proud to have my parents be happy (I could totally bring in psych, but I won't).

I'm not sure if it's just so ingrained in me that I keep doing it now. I know it's definitely not out of a desire to please my parents anymore - I gave up after they got upset with my first B on any assignment in 6th grade (yay Beggs's tests). I've even relaxed myself - I mean, I CRIED when I got that B on that test. I don't cry if I fail a test now (okay, slight lie, I tear up and feel horrible, but still). I think the only time I've cried as hard as that B on Beggs's test is when I got a B in second semester Euro...

If not for my parents then, why? I feel good myself when I finish assignments, and when I get good grades, but I could easily finish and get a good grade without spending as much time as I do on some things. All of those projects in Foss? Not to mention the Civil War project in Goodhue... Animating PPTs instead of just leaving them plain, decorating posters to the extent that I do... Little things, but they make no different in the grade I would get.

I think it's more of a sense of personal satisfaction. Not just getting the job done, and not just getting a good evaluation, but actually doing a good job in my own eyes. Creating something of which I can be proud. I think the way I was brought up just made me carry that to a level others don't understand. For others, it might be a major project or essay that they want to be able to show off - for me, it's pretty much every assignment. Which, of course, leads to a bit of perfectionism, but I'll talk about that later. I can't tell if it's been a good or a bad thing - it gets on my own nerves sometimes - but for the most part, I guess it's just who I am.