Tonight I, like millions of others, watched the London Olympics Opening Ceremonies with my family. But this isn’t a post about the glitz and glamour of the show. Nor is it a post about this one-of-a-kind, world tradition. This is a post a lot more relevant to you and me.

It’s about a commercial.

Yes, a commercial. There was a commercial during one of the show breaks that really struck a chord with me. It was a Target ad, but there weren’t any products or Spot the dog in it. This commercial showed real students as they reacted to their college admissions. There was pure, unedited joy and pride on their faces as they defied all their own obstacles to receive their lifeline: an education.

I’ll be a college junior in the fall, and as I reflect on my education, I’ll say it. I’ve done pretty well. I scrape by with above average grades, and I try to get involved in as many activities as I can manage. But do not confuse “pretty well” with “my best” because that is not true. While I’ve done well, I can always do better.

What I think some of us forget every day, in the name of the next themed party or big game coming up, is that we’re in college for an education. Not just for the good times and the good life now, but for a good life in the future. And even more crucial, I think some of us forget that there are millions of other people, in the US and around the world, who wish to be living our very lives.

It is so easy to blow off that homework assignment because it’s “only worth 5 points.” Or it only takes a few seconds, and maybe some words of encouragement from a friend, to skip a class because lecture is “only lecture.” Believe me, I’ve made all the excuses in the book and then a few more. Better is still a long ways away for me.

But watching that commercial made me realize how truly lucky I am. I didn’t even bat an eye when I received my admission letter to Mizzou, I just expected it to happen. That’s my mistake, and the mistake I suspect many of my peers make as well. We just expect things to happen for us.

Things don’t just happen. I’m receiving my education from a world-class university and I have never worried about financing my school career. This is thanks to the hard work of my parents, who came from a foreign country to America with nothing but a desire for a better life and better education than what they could receive at home. Thanks to their dedication to the pursuit of a good life, I have been privileged to grow up in the city I grew up in, with the school system I went through that lead me to the university I attend. This is an opportunity denied to many. And as the Target commercial showed, an opportunity cherished by even more.

For me to not try my hardest in school is an insult to myself, my parents, and the millions to whom education is only but a wish and a dream.

The Olympians, they understand this. You never see an Olympian in the game, going for the medal, half-assing it.  They understand that if they decide they don’t want it for even just a second, there’s someone out there who will want it more. They understand that to stand in the spot they do, it can be achieved by trying nothing short of their very best. They understand that they’re living the dream of every young (and even old) athlete watching them from home on their televisions, imagining their own shining moment of glory at the top of that podium stand.

We might not be world-famous athletes, but there are people who want to be us. There are people who want the opportunities we’ve been given. And I for one, am not taking it for granted any more. Doing “pretty well” never wins you the gold. But sometimes, your best will.