Don't Quit!

My high school Algebra teacher (who acted and looked like Oscar the Grouch) used to tell me this poem all the time when I'd be super confused and give up. I QUIT! I never did fully comprehend Algebra until I got a new teacher, but the poem did stick with me.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit --
Rest if you must, but don't quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow --
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a fair and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out --
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar,So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, --
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

- Author Unknown