Student Voice
Last Lecture by Emily Adlam - Y13
I thought it might be good to start this by making some general comment about what life seems like to me so far.
So, after a great deal of intense contemplation, I have come to the conclusion that life is like ice cream.
Maybe that seems a bit bizarre, but I say it because I find that some kinds of ice cream taste better than they look, and some taste worse: chocolate, for instance, always disappoints me. And I think something very similar applies to the various experiences that have made up my life thus far: I’ve never really been able to predict what an experience is going to be like before I’ve had it. My perceptions and preferences change so quickly that it’s practically worthless trying to make detailed plans for anything in advance; the outcomes of the quick, almost unconsidered decisions generally turn out best.
So there you go: life is like ice cream. Perhaps you think that sounds far too trite, the kind of thing that gets printed on novelty tea towels. There’s a reason for that: tea towel manufacturers are the only people who can pronounce with any confidence on the nature of life. And I guess that’s part of the point I’m making. Life is unpredictable and indescribable. You can’t tell what it’s going to be like before you live it, and you can’t ever really explain it afterwards.
Take our plans for the future. Everyone has goals and dreams; but it’s in the nature of life that they don’t stay the same, because nothing ever turns out quite the way we expect. When I was six years old, my long term ambition was to become a famous scientist, author, composer and violinist – all at the same time. Well, like most of us, my dreams have deflated a little over time, principally because it’s become clear that adult life just isn’t as easy as it appeared from a six-year-old’s perspective. I have reluctantly concluded that it is important to eat and sleep, and I might have some trouble fitting all those careers into one lifetime.
In some ways it’s sad that this kind of disillusionment has to happen, but we all do have to experience some kind of coming of age as we come into contact with the real world. That process of disillusionment, hard as it can be, is part of what makes us into adults. Looking back, I can see plenty of examples of how coming into contact with reality has changed the person that I am. My Year Four teacher still likes to remind me that on my first day at Dio, when she told me it was time to stop doing reading comprehension and start doing maths, I turned around calmly and replied, ‘No thanks, I don’t feel like doing maths right now.’
I still feel like doing that sometimes. But nowadays I wouldn’t.
Everything that happens to us changes us, or at least, changes the way we think about the world around us. Perhaps that’s why it’s so hard to say what, exactly, life is: it turns into something different every day. Back in Year Four, I lived in a world where it was all right to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I don’t see the world that way any more, which, once again, is in many ways a loss. There’s a certain flavour that has gone out of the world over all those relentless years of reality, and I can say with conviction that life certainly doesn’t taste the way I thought it would all those years ago when I first started here.
But it’s not all negative, because growing up, and my time here at Dio, has brought new things to life as well. There have been all sorts of opportunities which I couldn’t have imagined as a little child. Going back to the ice-cream analogy, I’m thinking now of an experience I had when I was in Hungary this year. Our tour guide led us into an ice cream shop and said something rapid and incomprehensible to me. “Pardon?” I said. He repeated it. “I … don’t … understand … Hungarian …?” I said. He beamed, replied, “You likes, yes?” pointed to something in the ice-cream cabinet, and I soon found myself being handed an ice-cream on the house. Only problem was, it was rum n’ raisin flavour, which was a little annoying: I mean, do I look like a rum n’ raisin person? Not one to waste an ice cream, however, I ate it anyway, and the strange thing is, rum n’ raisin has now become one of my favourite flavours. Something I would have turned my nose up at as a child actually ended up being a very good experience indeed. And to return to more serious topics, a lot of my experiences have been like that: it’s the things that I don’t plan out and don’t have expectations about that turn out to be the best. I mean, the whole reason I was in Hungary was because someone said “Hey Emily, feel like sitting an extra chemistry exam … or two … or ten …?” and being me I said, “Sure, sounds fun.” I didn’t think anything would ever come out of it, but I just let events unroll and ended up having one of the most rewarding few weeks of my life.
I think it’s important to recognize this, because at least for me, one of the things that causes the most stress and worry is making decisions. I always insist upon analyzing every possible course of action, trying to predict every consequence, comparing pros and cons. I’m always terrified of regret; I hate to think, as I make any choice, that in years to come I might regret that choice. I think part of that psyche comes from observing a lot of people around me, a lot of adults, who seem to have many regrets about the choices they’ve made. But possibly the most important thing I’ve learnt at this school is that it’s no good overanalyzing our choices. Things often turn out best if we just make an instant choice, if we don’t put too much thought into the decision. Agonizing over every choice just isn’t worth the effort. Probably I will one day have things I regret, because everyone does. But overanalyzing choices won’t make that any better. It might even make it all worse.
There’s one last message I’d like to leave you with, one last point of similarity between life and ice cream. They both melt away, they don’t last. So you have to make the most of them while they’re there, before it’s too late. So on that note, I’ll leave you, before I take up any more of your time. You’ve got so much of your own lives to be living, so go ahead and enjoy them; and next time you buy an ice cream, remember me!
Emily Adlam wrote and delivered this piece as part of an evaluation exercise in PRE - Philosophy/Religion/Ethics (formerly Religious Studies) a few weeks ago. We asked the students to write a lecture reflecting on what Dio has taught them over the years, what advice they would give to new Year 7s and where they might go in the future.
Honours Award in Literature to Emily Adlam
The Honours Award is the highest award possible in the School. Recipients of Honours Awards have shown an outstanding level of ability and commitment, and/or leadership in the activity concerned. This will usually have been recognised by selection and success at an elite level.
It is expected that this award would be given to outstanding individuals only.
Emily received an Honours Award for Literature in 2007, and her achievements are even more worthy in 2008.
A Walk Home by Rowina de Silva - Y8
The cold wind blew against her face,
The leaves crunched under her heavy boots.
The trees swayed, as if they were bowing to the queen,
But she wasn’t a queen, she was merely a child.
The crisp night air curled around her waist,
The moon shined gleefully, not wanting to sleep.
The hoot of owls made her ears ring,
Ring, like the bells of a castle,
But she wasn’t royalty, she was merely a child.
The dim shine of the roadside lights,
The night cat, purring at her for food.
The silence was surrounding her,
Silence, like a palace meeting,
But she wasn’t important, she was merely a child,
Walking home on a winter’s night.
Dem Bones, Dem Bones by Brittany Low, Y11
Is this the generation that is going to suffer Osteoporosis?
We need milk with morning cereal, tea and coffee and of course for dunking biscuits! Milk is such a nutritious and important food for human beings. We all have to be concerned that milk is making a dent in the average family wage. In the last year milk prices have gone up by around 30%. Not only should we make New Year’s resolutions to join the gym or quit smoking, but we also have to resolve the issue of how we are going to pay for milk!
A standard 200ml serving of milk provides a very good source of nine essential nutrients, making it one of the most nutrient-dense foods. Milk provides 10% of recommended daily intake of calcium, Vitamin D, protein, potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, riboflavin and phosphorous. A diet that includes three servings of milk (or other comparable daily foods) each day provides enough calcium and other nutrients to help reduce the risk of osteoporosis, high blood pressure and colon cancer. It is difficult to obtain enough calcium without consuming milk (for other dairy products). Unfortunately for us Kiwis it is. Prices are ranging from $2.79 (Home Brand) for two litres and up, to a whopping $4.49 for Anchor. Dairy companies are able to sell dairy products overseas at a much higher price, so why should they sell it to New Zealanders any cheaper? However it is cheaper to buy a New Zealand made product in Australia than in New Zealand. This suggests dairy company policy is pay up or go without!
When children come home, wanting something to quench their thirst, they look in the fridge and there waiting for them, is a calorie enriched coke or juice. Children love the sugar sensation a cold glass of coke and juice offers them. Milk is becoming increasingly absent from the fridge due to its price. The last time I checked, coke is great for rotting your teeth and not great for growing strong, healthy bones. This problem should concern all parents.
Unless cows need to walk around with diamond bling dangling from their necks, it is time the Government subsidised cheese, milk and other dairy products so that milk can be part of an average family’s weekly shop. In the long run, the cost to the Government of repairing broken bones will be much greater than the short term subsidy that is so desperately needed.
The Mysterious Globe by Christy Siu - Y7
Samantha Smith was standing by the Christmas tree in the living room, waiting to receive her gift from her mom and dad. She waited tensely. In her mind she thought about the gift, would it be a laptop? She wondered. She had forever wanted to get the blue mini laptop in Golden Computer Devices.
Her mom and dad entered. Samantha’s mom was holding a brightly wrapped present in the shape of a cube to her. Samantha waited for a moment, and then couldn’t resist it anymore. She delicately peeled off the pieces of tape and unwrapped it.
Inside was a white box marked with the words ‘fragile’. Samantha reached in and pulled off the lid. Her heart fell and instead of the flash of blue she expected, she saw a flash of white. Surprised, she thought that maybe her parents had got her the white one. She peered in and…it was neither the white nor the blue laptop, it was a snowglobe with reindeers and Santa and his sleigh.
“Oh, thanks I really like it.” Samantha said and tried to force a smile on her face.
“You don’t have to pretend Sammy, we know that you wanted the laptop,” Mr Smith laughed and he turned around and walked to the hall and reached out for something hidden next to the wall. He turned back with a package behind his back and hanging from his hand was a golden bag marked with the words: Golden Computer Devices. Samantha reached out excitedly for the package and opened the bag. Inside was a box with a different coloured mini laptop. Samantha grew more and more excited as she lifted the flap and peered inside.
There it was…lying there wrapped in bubble wrap. She sat back on the couch and tenderly slipped it out. It was blue, the exact one she wanted. She placed it on the couch and ran to hug her parents.
“Thank you, thank you so much!!!” Samantha said fiercely, and hugged them until they laughed merrily and nudged her away.
“It’s fine, it’s Christmas, and people should be celebrating and giving, right? That’s what Christmas is all about.” Mr Smith told her and hugging her in return. Her parents turned and started to go to their bedroom.
“Oh, by the way Sammy, before you go to bed, shake the snowglobe and think of Christmas.” Samantha’s mom said winking at her.
“Mary, don’t tell her, she will figure it out eventually”, Mr Smith scolded.
That night, as Samantha got ready for bed, she thought about what her mom had said. What was it again, before you go to bed, shake the globe and think about Christmas? Yes, that was it. She looked at the snowglobe and shrugged her shoulders, there’s no harm in doing it she thought. So she shook the snowglobe and she thought about Christmas as she slept.
Samantha started to wake and when her eyes fluttered open she saw white, all around. She sat up and saw that it was daytime and the snow was thickly falling, snowflakes twirling onto the ground. She turned and saw two cabins standing between two huge Christmas trees. Samantha tried to stand up and found that the snow was very slippery.
“Here, take my hand and I’ll help you” squeaked a tiny voice. Samantha looked down and saw a little boy, who was a quarter the size of her and dressed in a green and gold elf suit.
“Oh, hello, are you a dwarf?” Samantha asked him. He had little bells dangling from his collar. “I’m most certainly not a dwarf, I’m an Elf!” he said indignantly, looking up at her and putting his hands on his hips.
“Now, now Skippy, are you going to tease our guest all night?” a voice boomed over the snowy landscape. It was Santa!!! He came up to Samantha and handed her a silver wrapped present with a gold ribbon.
“Here you go, the first gift of Christmas!” he said quietly and then went to feed his reindeer. After a moment, he went up to her and then gave her a silver and black marble. “You’ll be back home in no time” he said and toss it to her.
She grabbed it and immediately Samantha was back in her bed at home. Samantha looked at the present which was now under her pillow and settled down to sleep.
Why We Should Act Now, Genevieve Fox - Y10
Our world is like our bedroom. Some bedrooms look like a bombsite, others have everything colour coded in alphabetical order and most have areas which are messier than others. Our Earth is just like that! Some people keep their part of the world clean and green. But others have their bedroom, their world filled with rubbish, toxic chemicals and no fresh air. The environmentalists of this world are like our mothers, constantly telling us to tidy our room.
Nobody wants to live in this horrible bedroom, yet still today thousands of trees are being cut down by the minute, more rubbish is piling up in rubbish tips and toxic chemicals are being pumped into our atmosphere. People don’t seem to realise we don’t have another Earth, this is our one chance. It might not be you, since when was the last time you went to the forest to cut down one thousand trees or permanently left on the lights of a twelfth level building? You might take the bus to school every morning, have short showers or even buy New Zealand products. Even just turning off the lights makes a difference.
You probably think there is nothing you can do to help. Owners of major logging companies will definitely not shut down proceedings because a teenage girl tells them to. But we have to do something. Because right now, there are many adults out there who are making a mess in our world and haven’t realised that it’s like trashing their own bedroom. So when they leave our world, who do you think will have to clean it up?