One struggle teachers go through is to get an academically weak student to perform in exams. Like them, I am no stranger to diamonds in the rough. It’s no straightforward process, and I imagine my colleagues nodding without difficulty.
But how do we do this when the coal refuses to be formed? How do we deal with the insurmountable?
Breaking it down helps. Being prepared to adapt to new environments and situations does as well. Remember that you’ve overcome obstacles before, and that the difficulty, like everything else, is transient.
A diamond forms in time. Stay positive, folks.
Black coal, mountainous and tough
Dark, mysterious, unrefined
In chunks, diamonds in the rough
To become crystalline diamonds in time
Small coal chunks, when moved
To places vast and new
Their form so improves
Sharpened, bright and true
Diamonds have been formed before
Though coal be black and crude
When treated, crystalline and pure
Shiny, precious, new
The form of black coal lasts,
But for a certain time
The diamonds form, sharp and fast
Churning from their mine
Diamonds sparkle bright and true
Are always there, though they be few.
The Getting Literal Writing Alcove 