 | | Miss Gaskin delivering address |
I feel very honoured to be given the opportunity to address you on what I consider a very auspicious occasion: the awards ceremony for students who have excelled in the Test of Standards. The theme selected for this year, “Stretching towards the stars,” is one that I can relate to. I want to share with the awardees six simple steps that I consider fundamental tips that have resulted in a successful primary school life for me, and which I continue to rely on even now that I am in secondary school. “Stretching towards the stars” in my view is synonymous with the epitome of achievement. Step 1. Visualise and recognise your dream or your goal. Perhaps the great Abraham Lincoln put it best when he said, “A goal properly set is halfway reached.” If you do not clearly identify your dream or your goal it cannot and will not be achieved. Once you are certain about what it is you want to achieve, you must begin to be more confident and self-assured. At this stage, you must constantly keep your eyes on the prize – whatever it may be. See your goals clearly and specifically before you can set out to achieve them. Hold them in your mind until they become second nature.
Step 2 is, plan and prepare. You have to have a good road map of the journey to success. Plan how you are going to use your time….., your energy….. and your resources. Estimate how far and how long your hand has to stretch to reach your star. Planning will help you to adapt and adjust to any uncertainties that may come along the journey. In this step, remember that you must “expect the best but also plan if the worst is to happen”. Bear in mind that Prior Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance”.
The next step, step 3, is implement your efforts to achieve your goal – In this step you are beginning to work towards your star in every possible way. You are focused and committed to stretching towards your star. Having visualized where you want to go, and plan how you will get there, with this part of the process you have commenced the journey. You have begun to “walk the walk” and, if necessary, even “talk the talk” as well. As you venture on, keep in mind the old eastern proverb: “the longest journey begins with but a single step”.
Step 4. Review your progress. You must ensure that you have not become lackadaisical in your efforts to reach the prize. On any long journey whether it is by land, sea or air, you will become tired, disillusioned and may even suffer a loss of will to continue. Looking back at how far you have come, and checking off your accomplishments thus far, can assist you to focus and recommit. Trusting in God and the power of prayer are always important but even more so at this point. Bear in mind that portion of Holy Scripture found in Proverbs, Chapter 16, verse 3: “Commit your works unto the Lord,…. and your purposes shall be established”.
Step 5. Persevere to the end. How many times have we seen a runner stumble and fall near the finish line? Giving up is not an option – stretch on to the end. Many of us will know the story of Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb, but only after innumerable attempts and experimentations with different materials and processes was he successful. Later, Edison himself remarked that “many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up”. Edison did not give up. He made it possible for all of us to light our homes and our streets via electricity, and as a result his name can never be expunged from the pages of history. Just like Thomas Edison our names can be written in history for our achievements.
Having achieved whatever it is you have set out to achieve, then make sure to institute Step 6. Express gratitude to the Almighty God and to those who helped you along the way. It would indeed be a lonely journey if you had walked alone, and so you must never forget those who have helped to pave the way for you: parents, family members, teachers and friends. We should all remember the words of Sir Isaac Newton who gave us an understanding of what gravity is all about. Newton said, “If I can see far, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants”. What he meant was that his success was not achieved alone but with the assistance of others.
If you remember and put in action these guidelines, you are all destined to greatness. The fact that I have punctuated this speech with quotations of famous people is deliberate. It is because those whom we now designate as great, had to work hard, plan and persevere to accomplish those things that we now honour them for.
As I entered Campus B, last year, I was encouraged to never give up and to always stretch towards achieving my goals. I would likewise encourage all of us, as students, to never give up and continue to stretch towards the stars.
To the awardees I say that, while you have enjoyed some success in your Test of Standards results, you have only reached the clouds. Yes, there may be obstacles on the journey but we have to just find ways to avoid them and to keep going.
In conclusion, I want you to remember these words by Louisa May Alcott which I have paraphrased: “Far away in the bright morning sunshine, I will place my highest aspirations. I may not reach them but I can look up and see them shining there and always try to follow wherever they lead.”
Remember to always Stretch towards the stars. |
