Salutations to all, ladies, gents, friends and families.

This year I got the opportunity to be Tīeke's Headstudent for 2023. First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge everyone’s hard work throughout the year.  In spite of having some delays from work-at-home days or realistically speaking in most cases; struggling to get out of your bed in the morning. I find that the thing that I really struggled with this year was time management. The way that I see it.. it was really hard for me to keep up with schedules and having due dates with my assessments. This might be because I was frequently preoccupied with friend groups that—more often than not—want to hang with me. I was coerced and my determination was simply impaired by the nature of demotivation. To paraphrase my favorite french author — Jules Renard once said “Failure is not our only punishment for laziness, there is also the success of others.” And with utmost certainty, I can proudly agree with this statement and that truer words have never been spoken. In response, I slowly learnt how to communicate with others— to manage and keep up with time.

On a separate note, another topic that I would like to expand on, is having a contagious smile. Ever since my arrival at Hornby High School, I would always see a prefect wave at me with a smile plastered on their face and that greatly inspired me to become one of them. Given that those smiles got me through my day most of the times. In hindsight, the prefects that I remember were Kuya Emmanuel and Ate Aliyah. They would always smile at me when we passed each other. So I want you guys to walk out here and know that a simple smile can make somebody else’s day great. Because above all, A smile is truly contagious.

Whatever is meant for you will come to pass, even though it might not seem like it at the moment. Recognizing that nothing is permanent is crucial. Thus, I would tell the students in the audience to relish every moment of high school, both the good and the terrible.Take advantage of any chance to venture outside of your comfort zone. Finally, embrace every aspect of your culture. That's what sets you apart. I express my gratitude to these amazing instructors on behalf of the entire Year 13 class for their support.

I would like to end this address with a quote from Judith Mcnaught “You can’t outwit fate by standing on the sidelines placing little side bets about the outcome of life. Either you wade in and risk everything you have, to play the game, or you don’t play at all. And if you don’t play, you can’t win”