Go the Distance Academic Rewrite

Original Lyrics: Alan Menken 
I have made the grade.

They just see the A.
And everything else,
It just gets pushed away.

I know I am smart.
I can play that part,
But a voice inside me
Says it's all I'll ever be.

In some other way,
I can go the distance.
If they see someday
That I'm also strong.
But is every mile
Even worth the while?
If I search most everywhere
To find I can't belong?

Down a numbered road
To an unknown fate.
And that road can't wander,
Though I'm destined to fall
And a letter grade
Can't obscure my face.
And in a long lifetime,
It won't matter after all.

I'll pursue my fate.
I can go the distance.
I will risk it all.
I will sound alarms.
It's a winding path
But the aftermath
Is an unearned welcome
And it's waiting in God's arms.

But to look beyond the numbers is the hardest part
For success and strength are measured by the heart.

Like a shooting star, I will go the distance.
I will face their hate.
I will face their harms.
In an uphill slope,
I will not lose hope
Knowing God is waiting
With welcome, open arms.