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There are many days I hear my alarm
waking me up for school,

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and I dread getting out of bed.

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I have more than I need.

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I'm fed every day, I live
in a wonderful house in a beautiful city,

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and I attend a good school,
yet I still don't want to go.

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It is so easy to find
the negatives in school.

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Things like stress
and lack of interest in my classes

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are just some of the negatives
that overpower the good.

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Yet, at the perspective of another,

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their opinion
would be completely different.

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Imagine a 14-year-old girl
living in an African country:

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her name is Adisa,

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and she is part of a family of six
living in a one-room house.

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She would give anything
to have the opportunity to learn,

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but her family can't afford it.

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To her, school would not be
the terrible monster that I see.

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She would find the positives.

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She would see school

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as a way to make new friends
and learn about the world around her.

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Thinking about Adisa and others
in her situation made me feel very guilty.

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Here I am, complaining about my life
when I have everything I need and more.

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What she would only dream of
living a life like mine?

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I've been told to be successful in life
I have to succeed in school.

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I've been told to get into a good college
I have to make good grades

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and participate in
as many school activities as possible.

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The way I see it, putting
that much pressure on yourself

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to make good grades
and participate in every school activity

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is not the best high school experience.

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For me, this just adds
to the pressure and anxiety

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making it more difficult to learn.

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I struggle with stress

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and the pressure of having
the best grades is always present.

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I was thinking about
what the number 4.0 actually means to me,

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and I stumbled to answer.

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What does it mean?

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It has to mean something if I'm putting
myself through so much to get it.

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I am one who strives to do my best,

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and the pressure and anxiety
is making me question why.

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Why am I putting
so much pressure on myself

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that I struggle to go to school?

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Stress about the workload pressure
on making good grades? It's a lot.

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Even for me who has never found school
to be very difficult.

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I don't find myself struggling very often,

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but that doesn't make it any easier;
if anything, it makes it more difficult.

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Many don't see how that could be the case.

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I've had several conversations

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where someone will say
something along the lines

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of, "if you are so good at school,
why don't you like it?"

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This question and the many
different variations I've heard

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continue to confuse me.

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How does working hard
to perform well at school

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take away the stress or dislike?

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I know from personal experience:
it just adds to the stress and dislike.

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I put myself through this
so I'll have more opportunities

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to live a successful life,
and I'm trying to understand why.

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When I hear my alarm waking me up
for school, I get ready for an entire day.

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I'm walking into day
for those seven hours of learning.

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Yikes.

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Seven hours of boredom,
frustration, and judgment.

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I've many classes

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that take so much energy
to keep from falling sleep.

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People that feel
that, because it's a group project,

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they don't have to do any of the work.

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Presentations that make me
shake with nervousness.

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Peers that feel the need to make others
feel bad about themselves.

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Add all this to the stress,

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and you're looking
at the definition of misery.

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I look at school
and see a bubble of negativity,

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yet, at the perspective of another,

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their opinion
will be completely different.

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Adisa would go to school
and be over the moon excited.

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She would want to experience
all the different classes and subjects.

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She wouldn't be so focused on the grades,

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because she'll be so much more interested
in the actual learning.

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She would try her best to succeed

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and only see the stress
as a small side effect of school.

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I try to have
this perspective about school,

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especially because I'm
so incredible lucky to have all that I do.

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But it is a constant struggle.

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I tell myself to think about school
in the perspective of Adisa,

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who'd give anything to take my place.

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I find the positives
because that's what she would do.

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She would work with the situation

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even if she doesn't like
everything about it.

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And I feel this should be easier to do
than it actually is, but it's not.

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I challenge you to think about your life

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from the perspective of someone
who'd give anything to take your place.

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Find the positives
and encourage others to do the same.

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Know that it's only
a portion of your life,

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and it's not the worst thing
you could be doing.

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I know it can be hard; trust me,
I struggle with it everyday.

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Just remember:

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don't take anything for granted
and embrace the stuff you don't like

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because there's someone out there
who'd give anything to take your place.

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(Applause)