HW 44

I agree with what Obama says about accomplishing something in life because it is true that in this world, you can't get anywhere or be successful without going to college. I noticed that when some other people speak about getting somewere in life, they make it seem so easy like "go to college and your life will be better" and I feel that they fail to mention that it is not that easy and Obama actually admitted saying it's not easy at all and that you really can get a lot of places with hard work but the sad truth is that sometimes, even the hardest working people don't get very far in life. "But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. 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. And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it." This is what Obama says and i agree with it 100%. I also like the argument he makes that it starts with yourself because the person has to be able to make change happen and other people can't do it for them-it has to come from within, as cliche as it sounds, it is correct. If the person doesn't want to learn but is forced to, they won't do work and will fail out but if they themselves want to get themselves an education, they will do very well in life. I also feel that the argument about becoming a great rapper or NBA star is an impossible dream is kind of true because it is a very hard, fickle thing to get into and unfortunately, part of that business is out there for entertainment purposes whereas an inventor of something helps people do things easier, so i believe it is an easier goal to set for someone. "We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country. Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork. I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in. So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse. But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams." This is also a very important part of Obama's speech in my opinion, especially the part where he says we will "let down our country" because i think that if you think about giving up on your country by not getting an education, it is really shocking because that is obviously so many people. I also agree with what Obama says that coming from a broken home isn't an excuse for not doing well in school because yes, it will of course be hard to focus on anything but if you get out of the bad situation, you will have a better life and perhaps help your family. I also agree with his statement that one of the keys to getting a good education and succeeding starts from fullfilling your goals one small step at a time starting from finishing your homework one night. I like Obama's speech because i honestly believe that it is very empowering and the fact that Obama can be empathetic is good because he actually experienced the work-your-way-up story or American dream story and knows what people are going through because it would seem different if Obama was saying all this and he was fed with a silver spoon because he couldn't really know what it was like first hand. I think that what Obama is saying is very good.