Page 46 - Grundtvig International Secondary School Yearbook 2019

2019
SIX YEARS OF SELF DISCOVERY
VALEDICTORY SPEECH

But you shouldn't blame us. What were we then? Naïve, young, innocent children (and we still are),
new to an environment far away from home for the first time. We were bound to and we did have our
challenges academically, emotionally, and maybe physically, for some of us. But this didn't last long
because I know for sure that halfway through our first year in Grundtvig, some of us had already
started looking forward to returning to school and had started feeling sad when it was time to go home.
Though that was still our innocent attitude on display, a lot had started going on.

As we sit here today, we look back to
these six years. At first, we were the The truth is that we really cannot
babies of the school in JSS1. Then, we pen all of our experiences down. But
would always run back to the hostel to one thing is for sure: these past six
'catch space' on the ironing table. Then y e a r s h a v e b e e n t r u l y
we became the senior students of the transformative and entertaining for
junior school in JSS3. Oh! I remember us. We have come to understand,
vividly the days of junior school when through all of our experiences (bitter
how in our innocence and with our big or sweet) and with the help of our
dreams we did things like establishing teachers, the best ways to live
our own banks. I remember how one of us productive and peaceful lives in the
joyfully jumped on desks and over larger society.
gutters in the name of gymnastics. I
remember how one of us became a kung
fu master. I remember how, every Sunday, we would run around playing fire and ice. Those days, we
nurtured our dreams of climbing great heights and flying in the sky- one of us literally did. I remember
how we had to spend a very long time during our extension in JSS3. Oh I remember the feeling of
becoming a senior student when we entered SS1, and how we became the ruling government in SS2:
the prefects and 'NEPA (Non-Elected Prefects Association).'I remember our exhilarating, educative
and fun-filled citizenship and leadership training programme. As I look far back now, I remember the
days when we thought that SS3 was never going to come. But it did eventually and somehow
unexpectedly. Then we became the 'ogas and madams' of the school. In our memories are the cultural
days, social nights, inter-house sports competitions, children's day celebrations et cetera that we
witnessed and participated in. And now, we are about to become alumni of the school.

To say that we have been through a lot may just be an understatement. But all through our ups and
downs, we have been very supportive of one another. My friends, I consider you all family. I really
lack the words to express how I feel. The truth is that we really cannot pen all of our experiences
down. But one thing is for sure: these past six years have been truly transformative and
entertaining for us. We have come to understand, through all of our experiences (bitter or sweet)
and with the help of our teachers, the best ways to live productive and peaceful lives in the larger
society. We have become equipped to display nothing short of excellence and maturity in this larger
society. And so, on this very day, when we will last sit together at the same time, I have a word of
advice for us.

My friends, the main challenge we shall face will be surviving in this very cruel world. Life isn't a bed
of roses. We shall meet people who are very different from us - people with different value systems,
different personalities-, people who may provoke us and probably push us to and even beyond the
wall. We can't expect everyone to be civil or to see things from our own perspective. There will be
days when we may feel like life is not worth living. I need us to remember that we are very strong and
that we can withstand whatever obstacles that we face.

The past few years of our lives have been filled with all things inclusive of mistakes. We have made

044 Grundtvig Interna onal Secondary School