Work Hard. Be Kind. Have Fun.

Each day, when Cara’s mother drops her off at school, she always gives her daughter the same good-bye: “Work hard,” she begins, giving a kiss on Cara’s forehead. “Be kind,” she continues, planting another kiss. “Have fun!” Cara’s mother finishes, giving three final kisses.

Today was no different. Cara received her mother’s mantra along with her kisses and walked to her classroom. The first class was math. Cara looked at her worksheet and groaned. More word problems. She was terrible at word problems! But she remembered her mother’s first word of wisdom: Work hard. Cara thought, Part of working hard is asking for help when I need it. She raised her hand.

The teacher kindly reminded Cara of the various strategies to try. By the end of class, Cara solved all the problems and felt proud. Check one. Two to go.

At lunch, Cara headed for the table with her friends and took a seat. She scanned the cafeteria and saw the new student, sadly sitting alone at the next table. She remembered her mother’s second piece of advice: Be kind. There weren’t enough chairs at the table for another person, so Cara picked up her lunch, said bye to her friends, and went to the new girl.

“Hi! I’m Cara,” Cara said. “Can I sit with you?”

“Sure!” said the new girl. “I’m Vanessa. Thanks for sitting with me.”

“No problem! I remember what it’s like to be new,” Cara replied cheerfully. The two girls happily ate and chatted. Check two. One to go.

Soon it was recess. Cara introduced Vanessa to her friends. Suddenly, music trickled out of an open classroom window.

“Dance party!” the girls cheered altogether. Cara looked on nervously. She wasn’t a great dancer. Then her mom’s voice rang in her ears: Have fun! Cara moved one foot, then another, then twirled. She was dancing! More importantly, she was having fun! Check three.

When Cara returned home from school, her mother asked, “How was your day?”

“Great, same as always!” Cara replied cheerfully. “I worked hard. I was kind. And I had fun!”