Kia ora, my name is Heather Lawrence.

And my name is Charly Wood, and we are your Year 10 Prefects for 2024.

Now Heather, would you like to share with the crowd how your Year 9 English speech went?

Well, Charly, let’s just say there were many, many tears involved.

Well, look at you now Heather, isn't that some improvement.

Thanks Charly! And you know what makes this a billion times better…

What's that?

Having a friend by my side!

It’s no secret that friendship is extremely important in a young person's life. These friendships can be found anywhere at any time even in places you would never expect. Take the two of us. In Year 9 we had no real knowledge of one another besides an awkward smile in the hallway. Flashforward to Year 10 French, where we bonded over eating croissants on a Friday. But our friendship really kicked off in Year 13 Chemistry where we bonded over our shared hatred of bonds. Now a chemistry class isn't a very standard place to make a friend but here we are standing together doing a speech neither of us would be able to do alone.

Good friends inspire mutual growth, this is sometimes hard to find when stuck in just one group of friends. By expanding your circle, and making friends in places you wouldn't normally expect, like a chemistry class, your vision expands and you are able to see life from a different perspective. There is a well known quote that is “you have the average of the five people you spend the most time with” now, if these five people are all the same how are you supposed to grow? Getting out and making new friends is important but can seem like a challenging task, so how do you do this?

I would say the first step is opening yourself up and allowing new people into your life. Break out of the comfort of familiar friendships and let yourself start up conversations with new people. You might find common interests or shared things to bond over, and this will help you feel more connected and let your friendship develop. Be proactive, join a group you hadn’t thought of before, and go into it with an open mind and the intention of meeting new people.

Friendship comes along with a range of different health benefits. A friendship can act as an emotional outlet, a support system, and people who you can bounce off of through tough times. A key health benefit that comes along as an added bonus with friendship is laughter. Laughter is a natural stress reliever, laughing initially increases your heart rate and then continues to decrease your heart rate and blood pressure after, this relaxes the body and can help to relieve stress and anxiety.

Speaking of stress and anxiety, Charly and I walk into study more stressed than ever, with the thought of all our internals clouding above us. But we leave feeling relieved. You may be wondering, how is this possible? Well, it's because we spend a little time each study period having a laugh. Extremely quietly might I add.

So we want you to think about a Charly or a Heather in your life, someone who you give a smile to in the hallway or see across from you in class. 

Keep these people by your side, and who knows, maybe one day they will end up here, on stage with you.