It’s easy for students to label themselves as a poor student after years of not making honor roll or being told they’re not smart enough to take high level courses. On my first four FRQs in AP Human Geography I received very low scores and considered dropping the class to evade future embarrassment. However, I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone and it ended up being one of my favorite classes.
Don’t let your failures define you, use them as fuel for future success. Time spent moping about poor academic performance or lack of knowledge is time wasted. A lot of students hold on to the end-all idea that they simply are not capable of earning good grades or taking high level courses because they are “stupid.” Yet, how can you expect satisfactory results if you don’t put the time or effort into reaching your goals? It’s time to stop finding excuses and actually hone in on weaknesses to initiate change.

One of the most detrimental traits of many high school students is a negative attitude and a pessimistic approach to schoolwork rooted from a lack of motivation. The realm of Barnstable High School academics in particular can be intimidating in itself due to the rigorous course options. Students constantly compare themselves to their peers which has established a competitive nature. Some students tackle these courses head on, but others are turned off by a fear of failure or a lack of motivation to put the work in. If you don’t challenge yourself it’s like running in place — after a while it gets tiring and you quit, ending up in the same spot you started.

If you are a procrastinator like me, finding the motivation to complete all the tasks at hand while juggling extracurriculars or a job can be especially daunting. However, the solution is not handing in half-finished assignments or flat out not trying to do homework. Any assignment, whether it is worth 1 point or 100 points, is important. Trust me, those tedious seemingly pointless assignments are the ones that add up in the end and could make or break your final grade. Teachers will have little sympathy for students who do the bare minimum and then question why their grades are substandard.

The biggest piece of advice I can give to students who struggle in school is to utilize your resources — don’t suffer in silence. There are countless available teachers, counselors, and students who would be willing to help. Working with your friends can make doing homework or studying bearable and can even end up being fun. Meeting up at someone’s house or a nearby coffee shop with a classmate can ease stress and allow you to bounce ideas off another person.

Break the stereotype that all teenagers are lazy and irresponsible. You are smarter than you think once you make a change in your academic habits and develop a strong work ethic. You might be surprised with what you can do.