Inevitably, as my final year of high school begins, the question of what I’ll be leaving behind comes to mind. Everyone knows the age old statement, if a tree falls and no one can hear it, does it make a sound? On face value, it appears to make no sense at all, but in fact it is quite applicable to our everyday life. Life is about making connections. If we live our lives without making meaningful connections with others, then who will it matter to once we disappear? We shouldn’t be saying ‘I don’t matter’, but rather why should I? What have I done that makes me memorable?
It doesn’t need to be something vastly significant, one can be remembered simply because you were very polite, always smiling, or you were very dedicated to your work. But is it how you want to be remembered? For senior students now is the time to reflect upon if we are happy with what we’re leaving behind. It is important that we first admit that we are not perfect. We have all made mistakes. But it is important that we understand that these mistakes do not have to define us. We will not be remembered for the mistakes that we made, but rather how we dealt with those mistakes. Did we learn from them, or did we refuse to accept them?
There is a quote by Iain Thomas which reads, “There are a finite number of times you will be hurt in life, but an infinite number of ways in which you can react to it.” Similarly, there are a finite number of times you can make mistakes in life, but an infinite number of ways in which you can react to making these mistakes. How you react these mistakes will become more defining of your character and more characteristic of your legacy than the actual mistakes.
Taking all of this into consideration, I encourage all of you to go forth and focus on what you’re leaving behind. Is it something positive that you are proud of? Or would your children be ashamed to hear of what you’ve done? Remember it’s okay to make mistakes, but we just have to deal with them appropriately.
