![]() We have explored this on numerous occasions in our taught pastoral program and in the presentations that you have seen over our time together. You earn respect and the opportunities that you get in life through the character and virtues that you live your life by. Work hard, be a good person and the opportunities will come.Ī big one for me is Respect. It does not happen, nor should you expect it too. No one owes you anything in life and don’t live a life of entitlement:ĭon’t expect things to be handed to you on a platter. My advice is to invest in yourself, try things, speak with people and continue to develop a love of learning – this will all help. Many of you will already know what you want to do, but I know having spent time with a lot of you recently, there are many who are still not clear about the future. In Kirby’s life, he has had a number of significant knock backs and disappointments.įinding Your Passion: There is no formula for this. This isn’t always easy and through learning from our experiences, in many cases, we can become more resilient. You will need to get back up when you get knocked down - You will need to have some grit about you. The need to be resilient: Life will not always play out how you want it to. Many of the messages I have shared with the boys in the last three years come through in the story written about him. I was taken by Kirby’s story when I read it. He now runs a rural obstetrics practice in remote PNG, conducting maternal health checks, training midwives and encouraging mothers to have babies delivered at health centres. In 2000, aged 50 and at the end of the 10 years he had given himself to become a doctor, Kirby graduated, achieving the goal he had set himself 10 years earlier. Enrolling in Biomedical Science, he finished his degree with honours but was repeatedly rejected from medical courses because of his age. He gave himself 10 years or he would go back to being a chippy. Kirby, 40 years old at the time, and haunted by this woman’s death, decided he would train as a doctor. She was very unwell and despite taking her to the nearest health centre, which didn’t have a doctor, she died the next morning. Then one night in 1990, Kirby found a woman on the roadside near his village. This took him to Papua New Guinea where he built a school and student boarding house. After school, he spent a couple of years doing various jobs and at 20, became a carpenter like his father. When the results came through, everyone was disappointed, Kirby included. In Year 12, despite all of his accolades and leadership, Kirby failed his exams. Kirby appeared to have almost everything and the description I have shared so far would not be out of place at a school like Princes. At school he knew that he wanted to work on the land and struggled to focus. Kirby was Vice-Captain at a private boy’s school in Brisbane, Captain of Athletics and Head Cadet, he was an outstanding sportsman. ![]() Tonight, I want to share with you a story about Barry Kirby a regular, everyday person who, unless you read the Weekend Australian in early October, you would know nothing about. They help us to understand our place in the world.I have shared with them stories of great adventurers, academics, sporting heroes and regular everyday people who volunteer in their community like some of our very own teachers. These have included stories that have focussed on the importance of respect, leaving a legacy, living a life of gratitude, developing courage and resilience and being good citizens of the world in which we live, just to name a few. Over the last three years, I have shared many stories with the boys. Book week is something that many boys will remember fondly and I am sure there are many parents sitting here now who have broken into a cold sweat as they remember the countless hours sewing together costumes or visiting shop after shop to find a costume that would get the approval of their son. By coincidence this week is actually book week, I farewelled Harry Potter at my house this morning and will wish the Gruffalo a good day tomorrow. It is with pride that I stand here tonight before you all for the last time to farewell the class of 2020 on to the next stage of their lives… their next journey. Below is an edited version of my speech about the importance of stories and making sure you write your own. Over the last three years I have shared a range of stories with them to help them learn about important elements of character and virtues that will help them navigate life. I recently addressed a room of 500 people at the Valedictory Dinner for my finishing Year 12's.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |