Taking the Good with the Bad

First day of the school year... Boys are excited about seeing their friends and meeting their new teachers. They are also a bit nervous. Will they like their classroom assignments? Seems like a good day to talk about taking the good with the bad - or is it the bad with the good? Anyway, most situations, people and things have good and bad things. Teachers they like, some that they don't. Friends in their classrooms, and some "foes". Subjects that they enjoy, some that they hate. It is often a package and you have to take it whole. You can't skip the classes you dislike or ignore the classmates you don't like. What you can do is spent the bulk of your time and energy on the things you like. But recognize there is a "minimum" you need to do even for those things you don't like. Maybe you don't do the extra credit for that teacher you don't like, just the basics. No need to spend a lot of time with the classmates you don't like, but you are polite and respectful to them, and interact with them as needed. Pretty obvious stuff I guess... But sometimes it is good to state the obvious. Just in case.