Head Girl, Reva Grills shares her memories of her time at Logan Park High School.

Moving to Logan Park High School was a really big deal for me. I was leaving behind a school (Columba) whose values and culture were totally different from that I have had the privilege to experience for the past five years. I knew no one coming into Year 9. I was awkward and tall with pimples smattered on my cheeks and crooked top front teeth. I was the classic case of an incredibly insecure and bewildered becoming-teen. Looking back, I had no idea what was to come and how these next 5 years would inevitably change my life forever.

Life is a funny thing because it plays out differently for everyone, not a single life aligned the same. But what’s neat about Logan Park is that inclusivity is a very real and powerful element of the school. And there is a sense that no matter what you’re going through or what’s happening in your unique, individual life, there are always people around that care and are interested.

Year 9 & 10 were probably my favourite years at LPHS. I was put into the best class ever, 9G. And I got to spend two cozy years with the coolest, most intelligent and random group of people. We were all sorts, not one the same... and the innocence of that time spent together is something I’ll never forget.

However, time goes on and the older we get the harshness of reality becomes more and more bleak. NCEA comes around and things start to get pretty serious. The pressure to succeed and choose a career path becomes the everyday topic of conversation with one's inner voice and on top of that, hormones are flying and all you want is Harry Styles to follow you back on twitter and propose. If that’s not enough to deal with, on top of that yet again, we’re at the age where a real understanding of loss and tragedy is more prevalent than ever. We’re no longer ‘too young to understand’ and the world and all its chaos and injustice, as well as life’s fragility, is very much taking its toll on our conscious.

My advice to you who read this report, whoever you are, student, parent, teacher, or random. Look after yourself as best you can so that you can take care of others. Teens, there is more to life then school work, appearances or being apart of ‘that group’ and you’ll come to know this no doubt as you grow older and wiser. Let life take its course and take all the gems you can from every experience; happy, angry or sad. By looking after yourself, you’re positively affecting and looking after the people who surround you. And after my five years at LPHS, growing, learning and living, the most important thing I’ve come to know is that true fulfillment is in balance and balance starts within. Looking after yourself never gets old, so start now and watch the glow spread.

Yours truly,

Reva Grills, LPHS Head Girl 2016.