|
Speach by Barry Ricketts
Your children are not your children. They are the sons
and daughters of Life longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you, and though they are
with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your
love, but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies,
but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of
tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them
like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You
are the bows from which your children as living arrows are
sent forth.
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
Graduation Ceremony Speech at Mullumbimby High 2001
Barry Ricketts, Year 12 adviser.
I once felt relatively comfortable standing here to offer
up scraps of wisdom that come from the self-expectations of
being a good Year Adviser. But over the past few weeks my
stomach has churned and I've become increasingly more concerned at the lack of little pearls
I might dish out today in the guise of a speech.
People have possibly noticed my behaviour. I d avoid eye contact,
even more than I normally do, hop-ing they d not ask: How
s it going? And then I d really duck for cove when they d
cheerfully enquire: Have you written your speech yet? ! The
truth be known I grappled some-what awkwardly this time round.
Until it finally occurred to me that such is the level of
your maturity and self-reliance, Year 12, that I felt I had
quite a hide trying to tell you what to do as you coursed
your serendipitous way through life's vicissitudes.
Nonetheless, in keeping with tradition, here goes my final
flings of advice to you Year 12. So take the following as
you wish.
Have The Courage To Be Who You Are.
Have integrity. Be open and honest. With yourself ( most important)
and with others. A person set on maintaining a particular
image is soon seen as being transparent, false and ultimately
fool-ish and none of you should be that!
Have Belief
It is one the most powerful qualities in existence. Believe
in yourself. . and keep trying! It is through belief that
we can reach the highest pinnacles. Remember, our greatest
glory is not in never falling, but in rising back higher each
time we do fall.
Decide To Become A Champion
( from year 10 you ll know that you're already my stars) .
Always have a dream, or a plan for success. A wise Tom Hopkins
once said: You stop being average the day you decide to become
a Champion, because the aver-age person won t make that decision.
Continually Seek To Improve
Remember Year 12, ( and you would have read this type of message
from me on your reports many times before I m sure! ) , constant
and consistent pursuit of excellence will be rewarded at its
own distinguished levels.
Forever Seek To Uncover A Bigger Picture
Be Curious -this will ensure your education will not end with
today's triumphs but begin with them. Remember, absolutely
everything is interesting! *
Be Sceptical -this is utterly different from cynicism. Apply
scepticism to everything that you hear, read or see on the
telly, in the papers, or on the Internet. Be particularly
sceptical of experts, whether anointed or self-appointed,
and, of course, of politicians. *
Travel - as much and as often as you can. It will nourish
your soul and fill you with experience. Don t rush your journey
-after all it s your life. Indulge in it and savour it; for
what you find along the way is often bet- ter than what you
are seeking at the end.
Play in and enjoy the delights of your own backyard but never
lose sight that it is but a tiny fragment of a much larger
whole. Always try to cultivate a true global perspective.
Think - And Plan
Believe me it s something of an aphrodisiac to know how quickly
your time is running out! Don t waste it. Don t waste time
with TV soaps, Jerry Springer or Oprah. Don t even waste time
with Cornelia. It's better to use your time to think. Engage
yourself in the lost form of deep, rich and pure thought.
Not because one day it may lead to a Nobel Prize award. Think
because thinking is one of the two ultimate pleasures, more
orgasmic than secondary preoccupation!
Discover something sports organisers do not know that tossing
ideas around is far more exhilarating than hurling a javelin,
discus or shot put. And thought wins over sport in another
important regard you can do it longer. There are quite a few
peo-ple over the age of 30 still actively thinking. Try that
with marathon running. *
Fall In Love
Do so frequently and with abandon. Falling in love is the
most exhilarating, agonising, wonderful, woeful experience
that we are heir to. While the symptoms can be similar to
flu, don t reach for the antibiotics. Better to let the fever
avage you; or ather, avish you! ! At no stage in life will
your perceptions be as heightened as when you are overwhelmed
by love.
If you are not in love, please correct this by the end of
the ceremony! *
Be Glad To Be Alive
The odds against winning lotto are what? A few million to
one? The odds against us being here today, because of the
Big Bang billions of years ago, are trillions to one. Remember
that no matter how bad it may seem to get, life, which so
many of us take for granted and consequently waste, may be
the most interesting and amazing phenomenon in the universe.
And there isn t a lot of it around. It's rare.
Life on our planet, especially in this beautiful country and
still not entirely ruined area, is very precious. So react
to life with joy, gratitude and passion. ( * Phillip Adams,
ABC Radio)
Join Hands And Walk Together
Hang on to one another tightly today. Hang on to your families
and your classmates. Don t forget one another. Be supportive.
Don t neglect one another. If someone hurls abuse at you,
hurl back kindness and understanding. Stick together and help
each other. Someone once said that we learned all we really
needed to know when we were in kindergarten.
"When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic,
hold hands, and stick together." ( Frank T Rhodes, President,
Cornell University)
I will conclude, with some words from T. S. Eliot which somehow
seem appropriate for you at this time: "We must not cease
from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be
to arrive where we began and know the place for the first
time".
So Year 12, there you have it. It seems such a long time ago
when I first met you in your Year 6 classes.
I clearly remember travelling around to visit you in your
Year 6 schools and seeing the fresh enthusiasm in your eager
faces; as you prepared yourself to embark on the journey to
take you where you have just arrived. Those faces are so vividly
etched in my mind that it could have been just yesterday.
It was as clear then, as it is now that YOUR group was indeed
extraordinarily special. There was a quality about this group
that set you apart from the rest. I think it is what I ll
term your social togetherness dynamic ; That intriguing ability
for every individual to relate so well to all others in the
year.
We have our separate groups; but our Year, the Year 12 of
2001, is one in which all people come together so naturally,
so comfortably and so beautifully. It s perfect it s just
right. Other people who ve known you since kindergarten say
that it s always been this way. Whenever you have t avelled
together as a large group, it is this unique characteristic
which underlines all others and draws such high accolade from
people you ve never met before in your lives. Before I conclude
Year 12, good luck for your HSC; And my very best wishes for
your lives ahead.
You ve been such an important part of my life for so long
Year 12 -And it will be a great privilege and honour for me
to proudly join with such a wonderful group of people later.
And, walk out of this hall for the very last time, together
as one.
You can be sure that I will not forget YOU Year 12. How could
I? You are forever the stars of my universe.
Shine on you crazy diamonds!
Barry Ricketts
|
