Makayla is the Student Prefect and this is her speech on gratitude that she gave to the school in assembly.

Having gratitude is important. I have a few questions for you… 

Do you take the time to appreciate the things you own? Do you know how lucky you are to be sitting here in the school hall right now? Do you treasure your eyesight? Chances are you don’t really think about how valuable these things are… so I’d like you to think about it now.

Coming from a family where visual impairments are common, I have learnt to appreciate and look after my vision a bit more. Roughly 2.2 billion people suffer from a visual impairment or blindness. That is about 28% of the world's population that doesn’t get to fully appreciate the things we take for granted, like seeing the faces of loved ones, the sunsets and sunrises, colours even. All of the things we are used to seeing everyday that we tend to just brush past.

Being stripped of even just one of my senses is something that I never want to happen to me, but I don’t have a choice. None of us do. We don’t know what will happen to us in the next year, the next month, the next week even. This is why I cannot stress enough how important it is to pause for a moment, take a look around, stop and smell the roses. Have gratitude for your vision.

Now, I know you’ve been told this next one a lot, trust me i’ve been told this for the past 12 and a half years of my life… but appreciate the education you have access to. Most girls in places like South Sudan, Ethiopia, Chad, Afghanistan, and Guinea, could only dream of being able to have access to education for even just one day. An Estimated 130 million girls between the age of 6 and 17 don’t even make it through primary school, 15 million of which will never even step foot into a classroom.

As the students of Queen’s High School, we are so lucky to have access to a brilliant set of staff, and a clean, safe classroom environment. Take advantage of the resources you have right in front of you… use them while you can. Because before you know it you’ll be out the door and in the big world. Your education is so incredibly important. So appreciate it because not everyone has access to it.

Here in this first world country of ours we have access to assets other countries could only dream of having. We don’t realise how simple our lives are compared to the lives of those in third world countries. We have roofs over our heads, clean running water, clothes to wear, food to eat and a school to attend. We are all so incredibly lucky and I hope you can see that.

If we don’t appreciate the things we have right now, we will never be content with our lives. Having gratitude is thought to improve your overall happiness as it builds our empathy and reminds us of all the good things in our lives. Your education is valuable. Your vision is important. No matter how little or how much you own, value your items. Appreciate the beauty of life now, appreciate what you have now… because you never know what could happen in the future.