1. I’M NOT STUPID. ~Peter

2. my teachers think I’m weird and assume I have problems because I’m up one minute and down the next… ~Daria

3. … I have issues learning… ~latricia

4. I used to have positive motivation from my mom, but since she passed away, I have a very difficult time keeping my self-motivation. ~Lauren

5. About a year ago someone dear to me was killed. She was everything to me. Since then, I don’t really talk or smile. ~Dennis

6. When I was 12 I got heart disease and had heart surgery when I was 14. Before that I always had honor roll classes, but then I got addicted to drugs after surgery. ~Julian

7. Teachers think that I am a bad student because of who I hang out with and how I dress, but to me, it doesn’t matter because I come to school to get an education. ~Christopher

8. I think I might have a learning disorder ~Thomas

9. I like to be loud and active and that’s why I walk around. ~Antonio

10. I’m not a very good listener and I am not a good learner. ~Adam

11. Even though I’m young, I’ve struggled a lot. I lost my favorite cousin last year. We did everything together. He was in a coma for two days until his mom told his doctors to take him off life support. I wasn’t there and because of that I didn’t feel worthy of being at his funeral, so I didn’t go. I wonder if he forgives me. ~Vera

12. Although I’ve had difficult times and made bad decisions, I’ve learned and have slowly put my priorities in place. ~Alice

13. I am a pretty unique person. I’m very quiet, and lots of the time shy. I don’t know why… ~Kevin

14. I’m a slow reader. ~Demetri

15. I am quiet, hardworking, and attentive, but sometimes my procrastination gets the best of me. ~Chase

16. I get distracted easily… ~Anonymous

17. Sometimes it takes forever for me to learn something… just have patience with me… ~Anonymous

18. My teachers think I am a drug addict and that I am just like my brother and sister because I am easily distracted and fall asleep in class. I am just tired because I am taking care of my nephew. ~Wilma

19. I learn better when I am listening to music because somehow I concentrate better. ~Octavio

20. Just because they are teachers doesn’t mean they know everything. Everyone knows a lot about different things. ~Andrew

21. I worry about everything more than needed and it is exhausting. ~Rhonda

22. I am not giving up on myself. ~Jessica

23. Be careful how and what you say to your students. You never know what’s going on in their lives. ~Anonymous

24. My teachers should give me time to understand them first before they understand me…sometimes I’ve got a lot of things on my mind. ~Anonymous

25. I feel proud of myself when I do well. ~Anonymous

26. I am a teen mother. I want my teachers to understand when I come late or I’m not here. I put a lot of effort into being here and trying hard. ~Karina

27. I listen better when I am taught one-on-one. ~Daphne

28. I am actually a good person. ~Jack

29. I am an ex-drug addict. ~Anonymous

30. I get depressed often and don’t even have a reason why. Some think it’s all in my head, but it really is a problem with me and I can’t control it.. ~Collin

31. My parents got a divorce and my father didn’t give my mom any money. My mother had to work 16 hours a day and I’ve had to take care of my sister. My mother is the only reason I am still attending school so that one day her hard work will pay off and she can be proud of me. ~Jayla

32. When I was young I was raised in the street. My parents were never home and they never talked to me. I was on drugs at age 8 and quit at age 12. I was abused physically and mentally. Now I am a happy teen mom…and I’m not ever going to treat my baby the way I was treated. ~Ellen

33. All my teachers need to show more attention to EVERYONE in the classroom. ~Nicole

34. When my brother went to jail I fell into depression and pretty much gave up on life. I didn’t go to school for weeks, I wouldn’t come out at all, and I just felt the world had come down. ~Anonymous

35. I don’t like to be screamed at (by teachers). I have enough at my house every day. It gets me really pissed off. ~Val

36. I’m trying my best to do good in school, but I still know I’m not going to graduate. ~Ignacio

37. I am paying the consequences for the things I’ve done in the past, but now that I know I messed up and want to fix my life it seems harder…sometimes I want to give up… ~Marla

38. I work and have a job that requires long nights and hardly any sleep, so I have a really hard time learning… I wish they (teachers) could understand… ~Tom

39. I have a job and I also have a kid and I have to take care of her. It’s hard to do school work at home. ~Omarion

40. I’m trying to do better, and be a better person, and I’m trying to make something out of myself. ~Beth

41. It disturbs me to know that the world is changing without me… ~Anonymous

42. I’m different. ~Anonymous

43. I’m a very focused person, and I strongly believe that high school is the stepping stone to success in life. ~Carrie

44. I got hit with a hockey stick in 6 th grade and had 3 surgeries in my left eye. ~Anonymous

45. I just want to get a high school diploma and get a job as a pediatrician although I have no clue on how to get to BE a pediatrician. The most annoying and yet hurtful thing is when my aunts and uncles talk smack telling me I’m dreaming too high. ~Marsha