I remember high school clear as day. Those four years weren't the most interesting years of my life nor were they the least interesting. I guess the best word to use for it would be mediocre. I remember my freshman year being difficult in the fact that I had to deal with the drama of boys and the complexities of toxic friendships. I remember sophomore year starting to level out and then I remember the next two years being somewhat stressful but overall the same. The only things to cause the major stress in my life were college applications and the 5 college-level courses I was taking. Academics has never been a ridiculously hard thing for me. There are challenges, of course, and there are definitely times I wonder if I can get through it. However, I stick it out--if a class isn't going my way, I continue to strive to do my best. I can't imagine missing an assignment or failing a class, and so that's why it's so hard for me to give you the advice you need and deserve.

Brother, you are one of my best friends. I would do anything and everything for you, if I could. If I could be there to help you remember your assignments, or get them done, or turn them in on time, or study for a test, I would. If I could, I would be your tutor, your teacher, but, most of all, your support system. Unfortunately, the reality is that I go to college and because I'm not only dealing with my own academics, but two hours away, I don't know how to help you when school is dragging you down. I know how it feels to hate the social aspect of high school, but not how it feels to hate the academics of high school. I love learning; I love the knowledge that comes with it. I know you do, too, but I also know you don't want to be an English professor like me. I know you may not even plan on going to college after high school. And these thoughts, unfathomable to me, make my biggest challenge: learning how to best support you with what's going on.

The end of the year is approaching and still you haven't been able to bounce back from the turmoil that has been your sophomore year. You've struggled and are still struggling to get the grades you need from the teachers you don't like. My best advice to you is to learn to separate your emotions from the work at hand. There will always be teachers, bosses, professors that you don't like. There will always be a time where a person superior to you is not the best person, and there will always be that question in the back of your head: why should I listen?

You should listen because while right now you have what you think to be the worst teachers, you will get new and better ones in the future. You should listen because things will change. You should listen because they are one of the many steps to you being able to work with people you do like, you do enjoy, and that like and enjoy you, too. You should listen because I cannot be your pen or your essay or your grade as much as I would like. You know that I think you're one of the smartest people I know. You know that you have it within you to be that smart. You know you can succeed and yet you let the personalities of your teachers distract you from the goal.

In every aspect of life, you will deal with people you don't want to deal with. And my best advice to you is to deal with them anyway. Why spend all your energy telling the world what it is that is so horrible about them when you can spend that energy combating their preconceived notions of you and proving to them and yourself that you have what it takes?

I know you have what it takes; you just need to know it yourself.