Butattheendoftheday,thecircumstancesofyourlife--whatyoulooklike,whereyoucomefrom,howmuchmoneyyouhave,whatyou'vegotgoingonathome--that'snoexcuseforneglectingyourhomeworkorhavingabadattitude.That'snoexcusefortalkingbacktoyourteacher,orcuttingclass,ordroppingoutofschool.That'snoexcusefornottrying.

　　Whereyouarerightnowdoesn'thavetodeterminewhereyou'llendup.Noone'swrittenyourdestinyforyou.HereinAmerica,youwriteyourowndestiny.Youmakeyourownfuture.

　　That'swhatyoungpeoplelikeyouaredoingeveryday,allacrossAmerica.

　　YoungpeoplelikeJazminPerez,fromRoma,Texas.Jazmindidn'tspeakEnglishwhenshefirststartedschool.Hardlyanyoneinherhometownwenttocollege,andneitherofherparentshadgoneeither.Butsheworkedhard,earnedgoodgrades,gotascholarshiptoBrownUniversity,andisnowingraduateschool,studyingpublichealth,onherwaytobeingDr.JazminPerez.

　　I'mthinkingaboutAndoniSchultz,fromLosAltos,California,who'sfoughtbraincancersincehewasthree.He'senduredallsortsoftreatmentsandsurgeries,oneofwhichaffectedhismemory,soittookhimmuchlonger--hundredsofextrahours--todohisschoolwork.Butheneverfellbehind,andhe'sheadedtocollegethisfall.

　　Andthenthere'sShantellSteve,frommyhometownofChicago,Illinois.Evenwhenbouncingfromfosterhometofosterhomeinthetoughestneighborhoods,shemanagedtogetajobatalocalhealthcenter;startaprogramtokeepyoungpeopleoutofgangs;andshe'sontracktograduatehighschoolwithhonorsandgoontocollege.

　　Jazmin,AndoniandShantellaren'tanydifferentfromanyofyou.Theyfacedchallengesintheirlivesjustlikeyoudo.Buttheyrefusedtogiveup.Theychosetotakeresponsibilityfortheireducationandsetgoalsforthemselves.AndIexpectallofyoutodothesame.That'swhytoday,I'mcallingoneachofyoutosetyourowngoalsforyoureducation--andtodoeverythingyoucantomeetthem.Yourgoalcanbesomethingassimpleasdoingallyourhomework,payingattentioninclass,orspendingtimeeachdayreadingabook.Maybeyou'lldecidetogetinvolvedinanextracurricularactivity,orvolunteerinyourcommunity.Maybeyou'lldecidetostandupforkidswhoarebeingteasedorbulliedbecauseofwhotheyareorhowtheylook,becauseyoubelieve,likeIdo,thatallkidsdeserveasafeenvironmenttostudyandlearn.Maybeyou'lldecidetotakebettercareofyourselfsoyoucanbemorereadytolearn.Andalongthoselines,Ihopeyou'llallwashyourhandsalot,andstayhomefromschoolwhenyoudon'tfeelwell,sowecankeeppeoplefromgettingthefluthisfallandwinter.

　　-----------------------(Note:onhardwork)------------------

　　Whateveryouresolvetodo,Iwantyoutocommittoit.Iwantyoutoreallyworkatit.

　　Iknowthatsometimes,yougetthesensefromTVthatyoucanberichandsuccessfulwithoutanyhardwork--thatyourtickettosuccessisthroughrappingorbasketballorbeingarealityTVstar,whenchancesare,you'renotgoingtobeanyofthosethings.

　　Butthetruthis,beingsuccessfulishard.Youwon'tloveeverysubjectyoustudy.Youwon'tclickwitheveryteacher.Noteveryhomeworkassignmentwillseemcompletelyrelevanttoyourliferightthisminute.Andyouwon'tnecessarilysucceedateverythingthefirsttimeyoutry.

　　That'sOK.Someofthemostsuccessfulpeop