I have always been a slow learner.

I am by no means lazy, nor do I simply not care. Quite the contrary, in fact; I have lofty ambitions that I am always striving to achieve. Yes, life has a funny way of not working out the way one plans, but it never hurts matters to plan and make a path to follow until you are led away otherwise. Regardless, hard work is how one achieves goals and arrives somewhere. I am not afraid of a challenge, and I will push back with all I have.

However, I will admit that being a slow learner and a hard worker is extremely frustrating.

I will never know what it is like for people to just pick up a subject (outside of writing) and get it, no practice necessary. I secretly envy my family members and peers that are able to do so, yet I know crying "It's not fair!" will hardly solve anything. Sometimes, however, that is all that can be said at the peak of the frustration and failure. And that makes those feelings all the more stark. The green monster of jealousy rearing its ugly head every time I encounter someone close to me--either in relationships or physical proximity--excel at everything I am horrible at is no stranger to me. But its venom is even more painful when the subject in question is something I have a passion for, that I work countless hours to improve myself in, and a peer excels in it with absolutely no extra time necessary. It is just the nature of things. I think most of us can relate. Or, at least, my fellow slow learners can.

For my readers that are the fast learners among your peers, I do not mean to exclude you. Please know that just because you do not struggle in an area does not mean that others have the same immunity. I beg of you, understand that we do try. We try our utmost hardest. We are not pea-brained or unintelligent just because we do not grasp something right away, so do not treat us as such. I know it must be exasperating to be paired with us in class every day; we do not offer you a challenge, after all, and may actually slow you down. Please have patience with us. Snapping at us, sighing dramatically, making unsightly faces, rolling your eyes, and ironically mocking us does not at all help matters, and makes us feel much more self-conscious of ourselves than we need to be. The more self-conscious you make us, the more shame we feel. That shame is almost tangible sometimes. Instead, if you see someone not grasping something, offer a helping hand! Encourage them! A positive word of encouragement and a gentle smile can go significantly further than a snappy comment and an impatient frown.

To my slow learners out there, do not give up--even though it seems awfully tempting at times. You, my friends, know the meaning of hard work and determination. When you get out of school, you are going to soar because you know the meaning of grit. You will have strong character, determination, and you will succeed. But if you give up, then the battle was not even fought and is automatically forfeited. No, you might not have been blessed with a quick brain and a knack for grasping lessons. Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, a slow learner in comparison to his fast learning sister, Princess Azula, once said: "I don't need luck, though. I've always had to struggle and fight, and that's made me strong. It made me who I am." (Any "Avatar: The Last Airbender" fans out there?)

So go fight for yourself. Give it everything you have. And most of all, learn. You might not fully grasp the subject at hand, and that is okay. But learn another lesson along the way. There is always wisdom to be gleaned; keep an open mind.

And whatever you do, do not give up.