My parents always taught me that with hard work and dedication I'd be able to do anything, accomplish anything, and be whoever I wanted to be. But what happens when hard work and dedication aren't enough?

It's the end of the semester and finals are done, and with one look at your grades, your mouth drops and that's it. No begging to change your grade, no "Is there any extra credit I can do?," nothing can save you from this F or D or maybe you're one of those people who cry about getting a B.

From here you have two options. You can either sit at home and cry to your parents about how hard college is and go through hundreds of ways you can try to get around repeating that God-forsaken class or, you can stop, take a breath, and let it pass. Nothing ever gets done sitting around talking about it. I know some people who have done everything they can, given it their all, and put their whole heart into something and it just doesn't quite work out. Ever heard the expression, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger?" Well quitting, is letting the struggles you're going through "kill" you. Also everything is easier the second time around because you know you failed, so you know where to fix it. So don't give up!

So what you didn't pass, next semester is your second chance.

Don't waste it by doing the exact same thing, and hoping for a better result, that's insane. You need to figure how how exactly you got where you were. Was it missed homework? Did you do bad on tests? Or maybe you just never showed up to class? Whatever the case you have the power in yourself to do it, and no one said you need to do it alone. No one also said sit back and let somebody else do it because in the end you're only hurting yourself.

This is your second chance, so get out there and give it your all. Go get the A and prove everyone wrong that you CAN do this. Academics don't come easy to everyone, in fact they don't come easy to most people. So while you see all of your friends posting about their 4.0's don't be afraid to get out there and get the best grades you can. Be proud of who you are and the work you've done. And remember that school is just for now. You're going to need more than good grades to get through life. As for all those people who have a 4.0 now, in the future they are going to find out that being good at memorizing some things and taking tests only gets you so far. It's your hard work and dedication that gets you places in life not just your grades.

You are a hardworking well-rounded person. You can do this. It may take more than one time but in the end, you CAN do it.