My Education, My Future
Students watched President Obama’s back-to-school speech. Students also watched
the “Swim” music video by Jack’s Mannequin and the “Right Me Up” music video by
State Radio. Click each image below to
view these inspiring videos…
“…Oh this friend today Right Me Up I’m not so weak…” ~ Right Me Up
“..Just find the horizon, I promise you, it’s not as far
as you think…” ~ Swim
Students were challenged to create their own motivational statement,
poem, lyric…about the responsibility all students have to work for their goals
and never give up. Scroll below to read excerpts from the President’s speech
and the students’ original works.
Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event (excerpts)
Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009
…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. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re
not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country…
…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 on at home – that’s no excuse for
neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for
talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of
school. That’s no excuse for not tryin…Whatever you resolve to do, I want
you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it…
…And even when you’re struggling, even
when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you –
don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you
give up on your country...
…So I expect you to get serious this
year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I
expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let
your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I
know you can do it…
My
Education, My Future
this
is my future.
My
future is what I want to be.
My
future, My future.
It’s
not far away.
Start
planning my future right now.
R espect your teachers
E ach homework assignment is going to be on time
P ower to have a choice to learn
O verdue assignments are your responsibility
N ow its your turn to get it right
S low down
I t’s your responsibility to learn
B uild your learning to a high level
I t’s fun to learn
L earning is fun
I ntelligent is a way to go
T each yourself
Y our the best you can be
I am not as
weak as everyone thinks
But I will
always remember that my friends and family are there
To always help
me up when I am down
R ace ahead of the competition
I nnovate instead of follow
G o your hardest
H elp others
T ake responsibility for your actions
M ake good decisions
E njoy your time in life
U
ndergo your own way
P ick your path in life
Choose Your
Path. Photo by Jano De Cesare
S
tay on track make it last
W
ork for your future because life goes
by fast
I
ts not hard if you try
M
ake life count, and you will fly
S
elf confidence
W
e can do anything we put our mind to
I
ndependence is one way to go
M
ake yourself confident in what you do
R eally try
I f you try you
will make it
G o attack
whatever is in your way
H elp yourself
get through
T ry your best
M ake every day
worth it
E ven when your
down
U se your
strength
P ut up with
anything down
You’ve
got to push yourself to be successful in life. Keep going in your life because
if you quit you won’t become a good worker, you won’t be successful, and you
will drown. It’s not just my education, it’s your education too.
S trong
W e can do anything as long as we know we’re winners
I’ m not giving up
M ake the best out of what you have
Never
give up or quit on your goals
Make
a difference
S tart a new life
W in every event you take
I ts only going to get easier in the long run
Manny sticked it out, and you can do the same...think
W ork to achieve
I
will never give up!
M
ake a difference
I’ m not giving up, why should you?
M ake a good choice and stick with it
N ever give up
O
nce you start the race don’t give up
T he race isn’t over till you finish
O nly if you try can you succeed
W
in for someone who can’t
E
ven if you don’t win you did your best
A picture is a thousand words
K eep on going till you finish what you started
Got
no phobia
Keep
moving forward no matter what
Don’t
stop because you lost keep going
Don’t
give up
Brains
beats bronze...
Because
with it you’ll get gold
The
word can’t only exists in the dictionary
You
gotta fight for your rights to be free
And
don’t ever say never
It’s Your Chance
It’s
your chance to make what you want to happen. So make it happen. Be positive and
keep working. Every day you have struggles but it’s your chance to go around them.
Take your chances and work hard and never give up. Do what you wanna do, say
what you wanna say, and be who you wanna be. It’s your chance so make it
happen!
You have to
never give up even when you feel you have done enough or you are tired or bored
you should never give up even if the difficulties of life are at the worst you
have to overcome and come out on top.
Sometimes you
don’t try your best. Sometimes you just go with the flow. Sometimes you don’t
raise your hand because you’re embarrassed you don’t know. Don’t do it anymore!
You can do it! You have to do your best, no matter what your best is. You have
to set an example. You have to ask and get the help you need. And I’ll do it too.
We can do it all of us, together. Let’s make
W
in
I’ m not giving up
M entality to win is vital
W ork hard
I
nspire others
M
otivating others
STRONG
Keep
it strong
It
won’t be long
Until
you hear
That
choir
Singin
their song
Its
not that tough
its
just in the rough
so
Dance
when your down
Dance
all around
Keep
it strong
Keep
it strong
Keep
it strong
Keep
your head held high
Up
toward the sky
Don’t
get down
Don’t
cry all around
Keep
it strong
Keep
it strong
Keep
it strong
W e are all winners
I shall never give up
M y friends are strong
D on’t give up
O
nly quitters quit
N
ever give in to your feelings
‘
T
ry your hardest
S tick it out
T hink your hardest
O nly do the right thing, not the wrong
P icking on others is wrong. What if you were picked
on?
Make
yourself strong
Just
keep Believing
If
you work hard
You
will feel good again
S pecial ways
W alk it off
I ncredible thoughts
M emories are valuable
S omebody believes in you
W in together, lose together
I n every situation there is a way out, you just
have to find it
M any times you fail, you just don’t give up
S ocialize when the going gets tough
W in when you get through
I nterdependence
M ake every moment worth it
Never
give up
Never
stop
Never
give in
S urvive in life
W in your way through
I n time you will make it
M aintain your life
C hoose your future
L ive without fear
I’ m gonna keep moving
M
ake every second count
B e who you want to be
W ork towards a better future
I
will not be intimidated
M aking a change
W ith
I
mpeccable
M
emories
Life
is full of challenges, but if you focus on your work
you’ll
succeed and your dreams will come true.
Keep
believing and you’ll become stronger.
If
you give up now, life will be going down hill the rest of your life.
If
you don’t believe you can succeed, you probably won’t.
W ork for what you want or love
I
nching your way is better than quitting
M ake your own decisions good
When
one door closes I hope another opens. There is always a light at the end of the
tunnel.
R espect others
E veryone is diffrent, you just need to accept them
S peak up for what you think is right
P eople will respect you if you respect them
O ther people are important too
S tudy hard so you can achieve great things
I f you have a disability accept it
B elieve inyourself no matter what
I f you need help, ask for it
L ive your life and live it well
I f you get tired you should rest
T est, you have to study for
Y ou always need your agenda
Every
one is a winner if you try your best.
The
only losers are the ones who give up.
W in it all
I
mprove
M
ove along when all goes wrong
No
matter how hard you try,
you
may have to lose some of the battles life throws at you.
S uccess
W ith
I n
Y
ourself
“Whatever
it takes I know can make it through!”
Push
yourself to do the unthinkable,
and
make your dreams come true!
S how that you can do it
W hy not try?
I nterdependence is a good way
M aybe I’ll do it, No I will do it
S uccess is the only option
W
ork for the future
I magine the future
M anage to do well
W ork hard
I
ts easy if you try
M
S
ome choose to procrastinate
W hile others copy work but,
I ’ll choose to do
M
y homework
The
strongest person isn’t the one that beat someone down,
It
is the person who got back up
The
life you live is more important than the life people want you to live
S how what you have
W ith all your might
I magine what you can do
M orning coming soon
S
tand up for yourself
W
ork for what you want in life
I
nspire other people to get their dream
M otivate yourself
S tand strong
W ait your turn
I’ m never going to give up
M ake your dream come true
S tick with it and make sure it gets finished
W on’t be long till we’re up again
I’ m not giving up
M ake sure you are confident in yourself
W ork for your goals
I can do it
M oving to your future
S tick with hope and trust
W ork toward your future
I’ ll stick to the goal
M oving no matter how hard
No
matter how bad your past was, you can always make a better future for yourself.
Give
everything your best effort, even if you fail, you can still say you tried.
S o you think its far? Its not as far as you think
W e can!
I can make it
M e, myself, and I is all I have for now
The
road to success may be a far, dangerous journey.
But
when you reach it you feel your life was well spent.
You
gotta work hard, don’t let yourself down, and get over those hurdles.
No
ones perfect, don’t consider yourself a failure if you fail,
failing
is just another part of success.
W alk the line
I n hard times never give up
M ake the best of yourself
W
alk the line
I’
m not so weak
M
ake mistakes and keep going
When
life gets tough you can’t just give up!
You
should follow your goals and make changes
and
hopefully you’ll become successful in life.
How
can you make a difference if you don’t believe in yourself?
Have
confidence to be who you want to be.
Don’t
use disadvantages as an excuse, use them as an advantage.
When you are
down don’t focus on the bad
Focus on what
could come out of it
Try to picture
how things could turn out
But focus on
the positive
Don’t just give
up based on what others think of you
Use whatever
you can to express your personality
If you only
think about other people
You will never
take care of yourself
And people
won’t see the true you
Run for your
dreams
You should
follow your goals
Never give up
H
ands are reachable, so lend a hand
O
pportunities are always there, are always in front of you
P art of life is to live with ups and downs, but
don’t let things make you weak and fail
E xpectations are high
F ight to reach your goals
U sing your beliefs will get you somewhere in life
L ike someone for who they are, not someone they
will never be
L ive, laugh, love...Live life to the fullest
It’s
your life your future you have the power to change the world, to make a
difference but you will only be able to make a difference if you stay in school
and prepare for your future because once you dream it you think it through and
do it !
I
know it’s inside of me, I just can’t get it out
I
want to know what this life is really all about
Everyone
tells me to just keep going
But
I don’t think I can without knowing
That
everything’s gonna be alright
Everyday
and every night
I
want everything to change
I
want my life to be re-arranged
And
I want people to feel the same way
‘Cause
it all can be better in a matter of days
We
just have to believe in ourselves
And
not put the books of our lives back on those empty shelves
We
must keep an open mind
And
leave bad ideas behind
And
take pride in our abilities
And
try to cope with reality
W ith an
I nfinite
M
R espect others
E ducation
S tudy for your test and quizzes
P
ower to do homework
O
ther people will respect you if you
respect them back
N icely ask for help
S tudy for a lot of time until you know it
I
t is nice to have friends in school
B
e nice to your teachers
I t is helpful to help your friends
L isten to your teacher
I t is nice to help your teachers as well
T reat everyone nicely
Y ou can work interdependently with others
Never
give up on the “dance”, because you never know what lies ahead, Sometimes your going
to wish that you knew but sometimes our lives our better left to “chance”. You
could have missed the consequences of your actions but you would have “missed
the dance”. You might have changed it all but don’t stop the dance because life
is better left to chance.
Life
is like riding a dirt bike. You race, you get hurt, but you see through it and
you get up and keep riding. It doesn’t matter how hard you fall. If you really
want it you will get up and keep riding. It’s the same thing with school. If you
want to get a good education, and if you want to make good money, you will keep
trying no matter if you fail a couple times. And like President Obama said,
were not only doing this for us. We’re doing this for everyone. Just think you
could be the one who betters our community. And you can’t let anyone or
anything get in your way. You can’t let anyone tell you that you can’t make it.
Because you and me both know if you give it your all, you can make it. It might
not be the first time, but it will happen. Just like a dirt bike, you might not
nail the trick the first time. But if you keep trying some day you will nail
that trick and its going to feel so good when you do. So just keep trying.
