Now, I know summer vacation was supposed to be a time of rest, and the thought of waking up for a 12 p.m. press conference the day before school starts seems a little out of whack, but I’m hoping as many Stuyvesant students as possible were able to catch President Barack Obama’s National Address to America’s Schoolchildren. We all know in our deepest heart of hearts that real change doesn’t come from a new ruling party, a new budget or a “supermajority.” Real change comes from the people themselves accepting their responsibilities as citizens. This is what Obama tried to do with his address; it was a genuine attempt by our Chief of State, if it isn’t too tacky to refer back to Obama’s primary campaign, to inspire America’s students to get “fired up and ready to go.”

On a personal note, it worked. Yes, even I, whom some would call the face of Stuyvesant delinquency, was touched by the president’s call for responsibility. For the first time in my three years at Stuyvesant, which has treated me fairly well, I felt guilty for the way I disrespected and blew off my education, an education which so many around the world can’t obtain. An education like Stuyvesant’s should be cherished and appreciated.

Stuyvesant students are touted as some of the brightest, with attendance rates through the roof and an average Advanced Placement score of “insane.” Between the rigorous academics, the college application process and the multitude of extracurricular activities our student body engages in on a daily basis, Stuyvesant helps produce some of the most well-rounded students in the country.

However, this should not convince the student body that it has nothing to learn from Obama’s call, or that we Stuyvesant students are so far ahead of the curve that we don’t need an inspirational speech to succeed. The truth is that most of us are going to be successful in our futures. Our school has prepared us for anything that comes our way and we’re going to be fine. Want me to draft you a truncated cube, Mr. President? You got it!

But my friends (to steal a line from Obama’s former rival, Senator John McCain), we have just as much to learn from Obama. As smart and responsible as we Stuyvesant students are in our own lives, there are a frightening number of us who are apathetic to the world around us. We’re going to be successful writers, engineers and architects, but after we earn our six figure salary and return to our beautiful homes, what difference will we make in the world? Real change comes from the people accepting their responsibilities as citizens. Stuyvesant has prepared us to be successful, but has it really prepared us to be the change-makers I know we can be?

For Stuyvesant students to be responsible citizens, I think we need to take interest in the world outside of ourselves. Look, Stuyvesant, I know you don’t have a lot of free time, but maybe you should sacrifice an hour of sleep a week to read The New York Times. Maybe you should skip SAT prep one Saturday to volunteer for a city council campaign. Because what is the point of success in life if you, in the end, have nothing to give back?

I know a delinquent telling you to “skip SAT prep” may sound completely far-fetched to you. I completely understand where you’re coming from, so allow me to quote a hero of mine, Robert Kennedy: “The future will be shaped in the arena of human activity, by those willing to commit their minds and their bodies to the task.”