People who know me know that I work hard at everything I do. If I want to get something done, I hit it -hard. But I have not always been so motivated.

I can clearly remember my first report card in fifth grade. Math C. Science B-. Social Studies C. English Language Arts B+. The specials were all passing. It was my first year of middle school, my first year with a locker, and my first year that homework really counted. Was I extraordinarily happy with my grades? No, but I was pleased. Until I got home. "You could have done so much better! Why didn't you try harder? Why didn't you put in more effort?" I knew it wasn't my best work, but I couldn't believe how poorly my parents were taking my grades. I wasn't failing, but I wasn't pushing myself to my full potential.

This moment shaped not only how I changed in school, but how I live my life. Every year brings different challenges, but I have learned how to push through and do my best. In seventh grade, my science class had a science fair. My partner and I submitted idea after idea to our teacher, who kept shutting us down. Volcanoes had been done before and circuits were boring. Finally, we found out that eggs float in salt water. We wanted to see what the salt content of the water had to be for an egg to float. Two months later, Stevie and I presented our project and received our grade, a C+. We put so much hard work into that project, to be average was heartbreaking. It was after this grade that I vowed to always push myself harder than I ever had before.

Fast forward to my senior year of high school. I was varsity cheer captain, in the National Honor Society, on honor roll, and worked twenty hours a week. I worked hard to get to where I was and yet, all around me, all I saw was "Negative Nancys".

Sometime around Christmas, a meme began to circle all of the social networks I was involved in. It stated that school doesn't teach children anything but obedience. Okay, I get it. When will I ever use the Pythagorean theorem in real life. (There were times, because I was studying carpentry in school, but I know not everyone will need it.) But I did learn! I learned how to write good essays that got me into a good college (and hello, those essays allowed me to write for The Odyssey!)

What's more important, I learned how to learn. I just finished my first year of college and I was easily able to balance school, fun, and relaxing time. I chose to study more than go out with friends a lot, but I also made some great friends.

So to everyone who backs that meme up, I get it. You don't need to use everything school has taught you over the years (like how fast a ball dropped from the moon will hit the ground), but some of the information is useful. Do I think we should discredit those who try and try and still struggle? Absolutely not! But don't discredit those who have figured it out, just because you haven't yet. I used to be the same way until it clicked; I could be better. Obedience is important! You need to know how to act in public, how to treat others, and if you want to go to college, you need to know how to learn new information.