Mom's Advice to Her Son Before School:**
1. You don’t have to get only good marks. You don’t have to be better or smarter than others. Grades and teacher’s praises aren’t the most important things. What matters most is that all the knowledge you gain at school (or outside of it) is important for your future happiness. In a few years, knowledge will give you more opportunities (from traveling wherever you want to becoming the president of any country). If you don’t understand how the times table or the ability to analyze poems will make you happier—ask your teacher. If the teacher doesn’t know—ask me.
2. If you don’t like something, find it boring, or meaningless—don’t be upset and don’t get discouraged. First, not everything in life has to be enjoyable. For example, I’m not in love with chemistry, physics, or math. I respect them, but I don’t like them. Your grandmother doesn’t like poetry, but she’s great at math and drawing. Your dad isn’t interested in Michelangelo’s paintings, he falls asleep in any museum (unless it’s a beer museum), but he’s a talented builder and can fix anything (from an electrical outlet to a Ford). Second, sometimes, things you initially hate, you start to like later on. So, give it time—maybe something will change (the teacher, life circumstances, your priorities), and what seems boring now might become enjoyable. That’s what happened to me with the German language.
3. Give yourself permission to make mistakes. Only some teachers think that making a mistake is bad. You know, a mistake is a path to success; it’s the way of an educated person. The doctor who saved your father’s leg wasn’t born a brilliant surgeon. He studied, made many mistakes with words and equations, but didn’t give up. Mistakes help you figure out what’s right and how to achieve it. Don’t despair over mistakes. They are your opportunity to learn about the world.
4. Don’t hold grudges. Everyone experiences failures. Everyone feels ashamed at times. Everyone feels guilty. The worst thing you can do in such a situation is to berate yourself for a long time and dwell on the shame, guilt, and failure. The best thing to do is to apologize to the person you hurt, the person you disappointed, the person you feel guilty about. And then forgive yourself. Remember this situation so you know that it happens, that it’s NOT shameful to apologize, and that you must forgive yourself.
5. Notice happiness. This is the hardest part. Not all adults know how to notice happiness. We don’t realize we are healthy until we get sick. We don’t realize how great our friends are until they’re gone. We don’t notice how many beautiful things are around us until we lose or break them. We don’t realize how precious our loved ones are until they disappear... Happiness isn’t something extraordinary. It’s ordinary, close, but unfortunately, often unnoticed.
6.Do your best, respect yourself, respect others, and fear nothing. Don’t be afraid to start new things, to disagree, and to say "no." Don’t be afraid of those who are older or stronger. Don’t be afraid to help and to say kind words. If people were less afraid, this world would be a much better place.
7. Remember that I will always love you.
— Eugenija Gorina.
Here is the translation of your message:
**Mom's Advice to Her Son Before School:**
1. You don’t have to get straight A’s. You don’t have to be better or smarter than others. Grades and teacher praise aren’t the most important things. What matters most is that all the knowledge you gain at school (or outside of it) is important for your future happiness. In a few years, knowledge will give you more opportunities (from traveling wherever you want to becoming the president of any country). If you don’t understand how the multiplication table or the ability to analyze poems will make you happier—ask your teacher. If the teacher doesn’t know—ask me.
2. If you don’t like something, find it boring, or meaningless—don’t be upset and don’t get discouraged. First, not everything in life has to be enjoyable. For example, I’m not in love with chemistry, physics, or math. I respect them, but I don’t like them. Your grandmother doesn’t like poetry, but she’s great at math and drawing. Your dad isn’t interested in Michelangelo’s paintings, he falls asleep in any museum (unless it’s a beer museum), but he’s a talented builder and can fix anything (from an electrical outlet to a Ford). Second, sometimes, things you initially hate, you start to like later on. So, give it time—maybe something will change (the teacher, life circumstances, your priorities), and what seems boring now might become enjoyable. That’s what happened to me with the German language.
3. Give yourself permission to make mistakes. Only foolish teachers think that making a mistake is a sin. You know that a mistake is a path to success; it’s the way of an educated person. The doctor who saved your father’s leg wasn’t born a brilliant surgeon. He studied, made many mistakes with words and equations, but didn’t give up. Mistakes help you figure out what’s right and how to achieve it. Don’t despair over mistakes. They are your opportunity to learn about the world.
4. Don’t hold grudges. Everyone experiences failures. Everyone feels ashamed at times. Everyone feels guilty. The worst thing you can do in such a situation is to berate yourself for a long time and dwell on the shame, guilt, and failure. The best thing to do is to apologize to the person you hurt, the person you disappointed, the person you feel guilty about. And then forgive yourself. Remember this situation so you know that it happens, that it’s NOT shameful to apologize, and that you must forgive yourself.
5. Notice happiness. This is the hardest part. Not all adults know how to notice happiness. We don’t realize we are healthy until we get sick. We don’t realize how great our friends are until they’re gone. We don’t notice how many beautiful things are around us until we lose or break them. We don’t realize how precious our loved ones are until they disappear... Happiness isn’t something extraordinary. It’s ordinary, close, but unfortunately, often unnoticed.
6. Do your best, respect yourself, respect others, and fear nothing. Don’t be afraid to start new things, to disagree, and to say "no." Don’t be afraid of those who are older or stronger. Don’t be afraid to help and to say kind words. If people were less afraid, this world would be a much better place.
7. Remember that I will always love you.
— Eugenija Gorina.