The cycle of success: how to reach up and out

I was recently inspired by the video below which stemmed from a GradNation report about why students really leave high school. It features student voices, explaining, in short, that they don't leave because they don't care - it's often because life gets in the way.

I've heard very similar stories when it comes to community college students. The tagline for this blog (see above) was inspired by just that - I've found it's often life circumstances (not any inherent levels of intelligence) that make the difference between those who go to community college versus straight to a four-year university.

The GradNation Report, "Don't Call Them Dropouts" lists some important ideas for making sure we don't miss out on the talent of students for whom life makes education more difficult than some of us can ever imagine.

Many of those recommendations involve other people:

"To meet long-term goals like staying in or going back to school...young people needed more than their own perseverance; they need to 'reach up.'...young people began to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally when they were able to connect to individuals and institutions that support them."

I believe this idea is transcendent - we all need to feel supported and connected in every stage of our lives; but it seems that strong foundation is crucial in our earliest years.

Some of us happen to be born into situations where we get support and connection directly from our families and communities. But too many are left behind and then judged without considering what they've had to endure. 

I love the idea of "reaching up," as if you've read my book you know that's what it's all about. Most of my work revolves around the idea of teaching students how to reach up, how to ask for help, and why no one is successful alone. 

It's so easy to tell ourselves that if we aren't successful in a particular moment that maybe it means we're just not cut out for whatever that thing we're trying to do is (e.g. like if you fail a test or drop out of high school). However, most of the time it might mean you just don't have the right supports and strategies. 

I could go on and on about this idea, but since that's basically what I do in my book, I just want to leave you with two things you can act on right now:

1. Who do you need to "reach up" to today to ask for help in accomplishing your #1 goal for this year? 

If you're not sure, think about something you really want to accomplish, and then ask yourself how you can find someone who's already accomplished it to ask for their advice. Some great places to start looking for that person are: LinkedIn, Twitter, teachers, professors, family members, alumni networks, and your college career center.

Contact them right now!

2. What organization in your community can you reach out to in order to become a mentor to a high school or college student? 

If you're not sure, check out this awesome search tool via Mentoring.org to easily find mentoring organizations in your community. 

Can you imagine what the world would look like if each one of us reached up and out? 

I encourage you to get going today so you can see what happens when you decide to build a community to support your own success, and then use that success to help support the success of others.

It's one of the most beautiful cycles there is. 

How to make a difference in something you care about

Is there something you really care about? Something you want to change? Somewhere you want to make a difference?

Do you ever get discouraged?

I sure do. It probably comes to no surprise to you that one of the things I care most about is low-income students breaking the cycles of poverty through education. 

Sometimes the issues of inequality and the systems that continue them feel so overwhelming. Sometimes I feel like I'm not making any difference at all. 

And that's the best weapon the status quo and patterns of oppression have - to make people who want to change things feel completely powerless and hopeless. 

Last week I read an amazing book - Privilege, Power, and Difference by Allan G. Johnson - that featured a poem that I wanted to share with you: 

Stubborn Ounces 
(To the One Who Doubts the Worth of Doing Anything If You Can’t Do Everything)

You say the little efforts that I make
will do no good; they will never prevail
to tip the hovering scale
where Justice hangs in balance.
                                  I don’t think
I ever thought they would.
But I am prejudiced beyond debate
In favor of my right to choose which side
shall feel the stubborn ounces of my weight.

by Bonaro W. Overstreet

I hope that you do not lose faith in your power to affect change in whatever it is you really care about. 

And as for me, I hope that the stubborn ounces of your weight complete college and achieve your dreams - it is one of the best things you can do for yourself and for all the people who identify with you.