Excerpts from President's Obama Speech worth noting (with slight modifications)

' Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life - what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going at home - that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for not trying.

Set your own goals, which can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book - and do everything you can to meet them.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You wont click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you wont neccessarily succeed at everything the first time you try. That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, 'I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.' These people succeeded because they understand that you cant let your failures define you - you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get a bad grade, it doesnt mean that you're stupid, it just means that you need to spend more time studying.

No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You've got to practice.

Dont be afraid to ask questions. Dont be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Asking for help isnt a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find someone that you trust and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you - dont ever give up on yourself. Keep on going, try harder, and dont do anything less than your best.

So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? what problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in 20 or 50 or 100 years say about what all of you did for this country?

You've got to do your part. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything that you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down - Don't yet your family or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.'


So inspiring. I wish I had someone who gave me this speech when I was still in high school. But it's still not too late. It still applies :)