Dear Struggling Student,
Do not give up, do not give in, and do not ever, I mean ever, feel as though you will never win. You wake up early to go to school and get the extra help you need. You roll out of bed begging for 10 more minutes, but you grab your cup of coffee and your keys and drive to school. You knock on the door for the teacher to let you in, and with your head hung low, you head off to their classroom trying not to cry because you know the frustration is about to begin. You pull out that dreaded textbook, take a deep breath, and pull out your empty sheet of homework barely looking your teacher in the eyes because you are so embarrassed about the fact that you cannot understand the homework that everyone else gets. What you also do not understand is the fact that everyone around you is so proud of you for putting in all the extra work to get the grades you need.
Everyone is born with strengths and weaknesses; we are human, and no one is perfect. Some are good in school while others are good with beauty and fashion; some have been gifted as an athlete while others have been gifted with a huge heart and so much determination that they do not even realize they have it. There will be people in your life that will be better than you, and there will be people in this world who will never compare to you. But do you really pay attention to that? No. You are focused on the fact you are not the best. You are not comparing yourself to who you were yesterday. Instead, you are comparing yourself to everyone who is better then you in whatever you are struggling at.
You put in the time and effort before and after class asking questions you refuse to ask when everyone else is around because you do not want them to know the truth. You do not want to tell your friend that you struggle because you fear that they will look at you differently. Instead, you cry tears of frustration as you start your math homework for the fourth time tonight because you cannot seem to grasp what you learned in class that day. You have your teacher's email constantly blowing up asking them questions. You are calling their phone to have things explained thoroughly, and they are sending you YouTube links to try to help you out. Yet, you still struggle with the basics as you watch all your friends breeze through the homework as though it is nothing. You feel as though you are suck in one spot while everyone is leaps and bounds ahead of you, and to you it's not fair.
The truth is life will not be fair. Not to you but to your friends who have been able to get through school without studying and going to class because they do not need to. Once they begin taking classes that consist of studying, concentrating, taking notes, and determination they will crumble and you will shine. You will know what it takes. You know the hours of studying that are needed to pass a test. You know that if you do not understand something you need to talk to the teacher or professor and ask questions so you know exactly what you need to do. You will have the determination to accomplish what many will think is impossible.
You will be able to do all of this because of what you have learned from the past. As you learned all of this you will also learn that you always had someone in your corner cheering you on. You had your family standing by your side always pushing you just a little harder so you could get the grade you have been striving for, and you had your teacher who was so willing to stay in their classroom later then they needed to and come in way earlier than they were suppose to because they believed you could accomplish everything you wanted to do.
Most of all, you never gave up on yourself, and you always pushed through and never let anyone bring you down. If you keep doing that for the rest of your life there is nothing you cannot accomplish.
Sincerely,
Someone who understands the struggle and pain
