Dear Mountain Ridge Students,

Don’t give up. You’ve made it this far! Keep pushing yourself. You are going to get through this year whether you put in the work or not. Time will fly. You may be wishing for this year to be over, or for high school to just end. It will come. It’s up to you if you walk when you graduate. You may see the chords of success around your neck and get to hold the paper that shows you did it. You put the work in. You didn’t give up. 

How does one get there? It’s not easy. It doesn’t matter what your background is, you have the chance to be successful. Set aside the reasons why you don’t feel like giving your best. You can only be successful if you’re prepared to do what it takes to get there. 

Success looks different for everyone. Set your own personal goals and you will see yourself growing and learning so much. If you value and respect yourself you’ll want to do what’s best for you. Slacking off in school will only set you up to be lazy in the future. It will create bad habits that will be hard to break. 

To not be lazy, you can begin by making sure all of your work is turned in on time to the best of your ability. Creating deadlines for yourself or following the ones your teacher gave you will teach you the important skill of having everything in when it’s supposed to be. 

Imagine having your own home when you grow up. You must pay all of your bills on time or else there are consequences. If you don’t, you will have to pay extra money, and if it continues, you will be evicted from your home. Putting in the work now and following these deadlines will prepare you for the future.

With turning your assignments in on time comes the quality of your work. If you got it done in 5 minutes to go play COD for hours you didn’t really put effort into the assignment. The homework you’ve just handed your teacher will bring your 70 to a 67, and now you have to explain to your parents why that is. 

The point is, do your homework and other assignments to the best of your ability to receive the credit you need. If you are giving zero effort into school you deserve the bad grades. It’s like playing sports. If you don’t practice and work hard with the rest of the team and you have a bad attitude, you won’t do well in the games, and you don’t deserve to be there. 

For a student that puts in the work but just can’t seem to understand, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your teachers are there to explain to you anything you need, and they will help you learn the material. Ask questions. The only dumb questions are the ones you don’t ask. 

How does one stay motivated to be successful? Think about who you’re working for and why you’re doing it. Think about the things you want to do in the future and what you value most. That’s what and who you’re working for. Use whatever you need to keep yourself motivated and create goals to see your progress. 

Don’t take the easy way out, but also don’t push yourself too hard. It’s important to have a balance of these two things. If you’re always pushing yourself to the max, you will get burnt out and break down. If you’re always taking the easy way, you will become lazy and you will see that reflect in your attitude and your actions. Have the sweet spot in the middle. Have time to let yourself relax and reflect on yourself and others and at the same time, put in the effort to maintain your success. 

Make sure you’re surrounded by the right people. Hang out with people who truly want the best for you and won’t tempt you into doing things you’ll regret. These people will help you push for your goals and encourage you to do your best because they love you. You don’t need toxic friendships that will add more stress on top of the stress school puts on you. It is too much to handle.  

Always remember that you truly can do anything. You are an amazing person who deserves success, but you also must understand it’s up to you to get there. You can contribute to your future now by how you react to things and how you work. Don’t forget that you can always ask for help no matter what you’re going through and you are loved by so many people in this world. 

“Nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it ain’t how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.”-Rocky Balboa