Season 03, Ep. 08

(A cheesy) Season Finale. 

It's nearly the end of this year. It's definitely the end of the school-academic year over here. Therefore, in light of the end of an era, the end of a chapter, this season finale is going out to my beloved students. Past ones, current ones and future ones. It goes out to the teenagers we are growing today for this rapidly changing world which they're about to enter tomorrow. 

Wake up with a purpose. Wake up with a goal. What is your goal today. Even if it’s as simple as to say 'thank you' more often, own it, succeed, it, exceed it. Go to bed each night, ticking off daily goals. 

Success is not always in money, or fame or power. Success is in little things. Success is waking up knowing that you're about to spend a day doing what you love. It's about working with people you love. It's about going home to the people you love. Success is finding that drive, that passion, that purpose that puts a smile on your face when you hear your alarm going off in the morning. This can be different to everybody, so find your own drive but don't compare it to others', because they are not you. 

It's also about going to bed at night knowing that you did your best today. That if you saw someone on the street in pain, or in distress, you would stop to help. That even if you hated Physics at school, you still gave it a good go because you knew it can open your eyes about everyday things you didn't know. 

If you didn't know the answer to a problem or a question, but you did everything you could to find the answer, that's success. There's two types of failure. There is failure because you never even tried, and there is failure after we gave it our best shot. Never apologise for failing after having tried your best. Apologise for never trying. Apologise for not caring. But apologise to yourself, not to anyone else, because at the end of the day when you not care, it's only you staying behind, not anybody else. When you give it your best and you fail, own up to it. Take it away, learn from the mistake and come back for another go. And then another. Success is the total of failures plus the person who never gave up. 

Success is also joy, success is being free, falling in love, building a friendship, a bromance, a sisterhood. 

Success is in realising that there is always room for improvement in ourselves and that learning never stops. Not at 18, not at 25, not at 60. 

Find your passion. Find your joy. Succeed in all the above. Tick your boxes. Say please and thank you more often. It will get you a long way. 

Develop skills in all possible areas when you are at school. It's your only time to figure out what you like, and what you are good at. Develop manners. Care about your planet. It's your heritage to your sons and daughters. Your school is your fuel station. And there is nothing more attractive than an educated, smart, ambitious person. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2017.

Toodles,

Katerina