December « 2009 « Words to Lyrics

31 December 2009

2009 to 2010

Filed under: Rant,Reflection — Tags: eve, new, review, years — Ben @ 4:52 pm

What’s interesting is that at the start of every year, we say that the year ahead will be the best one has ever seen. It begins to wear off about 20 years after (you don’t see older people make such a claim do you?) but for now the statement still holds.

2009 has been a fantastic year. I’ve finished Year 12, that’s something. Next year begins the next step of many steps into this wide world of ours.

I’m not a fan of talking about the past. Although I do it often, looking back on it, it has been a very foolish act. Instead, now I will talk about the future more often.

I guess this is what many people do at this time, in the form of New Year’s Resolutions. (Mine will come tomorrow)

But for now, I’m here to tell you what I’ll be doing differently next year. It’s not a big thing, but it has a big impact.

Tell the truth.

Yes, it’s that simple. This past year, I’ve realised that in order to please others, the truth had to be manipulated in some way.

From now on, it’s the raw truth, whether you like it or not. It is undesirable to see a web of lies and cover-ups cloud one’s thoughts and judgement. It is undesirable for one to believe that everything is okay. Nothing is perfect, it shouldn’t be. After all, if the world was perfect, there would be nothing to make us think.

Obviously someone or something will be upset or disturbed by truth in any case. This is not a concern, because when such truth is divulged, it teaches one to deal with the consequence of the truth and to move on.

It is not right for someone to influence or dictate the direction of one’s thoughts or life. Everyone is unique and this is what preserves the diversity in society.

Thank you for reading my blog in 2009, and a Happy New Year to you all.

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9 December 2009

An Illusionary Speech Night

Filed under: I Wonder,Reflection — Tags: illusion, night, prize, speech — Ben @ 11:35 am

Apologies for the lack of posts recently.

Last night was Barker’s speech night, and my last speech night.

Speech night has become known for the exhaustive prize list, Year 12 antics during the prize giving, and of course the Headmaster’s (herein referred to as K) speech.

What we have come to love about K’s speech is the length (purported to have been 40 minutes one year, but this year’s was 21 minutes long), the content (has ranged from famous men, to Canadian mountains), and the relevance to Barker ways (interpretations can vary). The evening and the day after speech night the intertubes are abuzz about the choice of subject, the relevancy and overall, whether the speech was good or not!

(For the record, this year’s speech was 21 minutes long which focused on three influential men: Galileo Galilei, Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin and their perseverance to reach their goals. The relevance (as interpreted by some people) was questionable.)

Next on the list, Year 12 antics. This year’s Year 12 has been very supportive of each other, as was evident in the various call outs during the prize giving. Most memorable was Willo’s standing ovation, for his magnificent achievements. There were a few others, including the frenzied call out for Jono Chung’s prizes and Jono Mui’s additional handshake.

Now I’ll talk about why I’ve called this an Illusionary Speech Night (for Year 12s).

Firstly, the prize winners are selected on the performance in the school assessments which count for 50% of the final HSC mark. While these people are to be congratulated, and for some will represent what they achieved in the written Board of Studies exams, not everyone who wins on speech night will ‘win’ in their HSC results. To ‘win’ is to win in the relative sense, which means it is different for each person.

The real ‘prize’ will be one’s individual HSC results, which, at time of writing, will be released in one week. Only then will one know whether they have won or not.

Looking down the track, the real ‘prize’ will be the contribution one makes to this changing world. The real ‘prize’ will be the consequences, good or bad, of the path that one takes. The real ‘prize’ will be the satisfaction that you will have gained from making a difference, whether officially recognised or not.

It was good seeing you all again.