Yesterday, my guidance teacher asked our class if we had any nuggets of wisdom that we could share with each-other.
When she came to me, I paused. I wanted to say something, but found myself incapable of doing so, feeling as though all the wisdom in my body had been squeezed out of me due to the pressure of being put on the spot.
Twenty four hours later, I feel as though I've finally found something worthy of saying.
We've spent five sixth's of our lives in education, be it nursery, primary or secondary school. A third of our lives has been spent at Kincorth Academy.
It's insane to think of the people we once were. The confused twelve year old's that we were in 2006 are long gone. They developed into the amazing people that I am proud to call my friends today.
We might have been through a lot, but we've been there for one another through it all. We've helped each-other face the world. We've grown up together. We've created our own little make-shift family. And now, we're cutting the tie that bonded us together in the first place - school.
But know this, if someone is worth keeping in contact with, they'll keep in contact with you. You won't see them every single day, you might not even see them every single month, but they'll still be there, in your life. If they're not worth it? Then they won't keep in contact with you. That's okay. You are all going to go on to do some amazing things with your life, of that I am certain, and you'll meet some exceptional people along the way.
Don't be nervous about what the future holds. Everything works out in the end. Maybe you're going to college. Maybe you're going to University. Maybe you're getting an apprenticeship, or taking a gap year, or going straight into the world of work... maybe you don't have anything planned. Whatever you're doing next year, just know that you don't have to stick with it. If you don't like your course, change it. If you don't like your job, quit it. If you don't like sitting around doing nothing, change it.
Chase your dreams. Life is too short to do anything else bar that. Hard work and stubborn behaviour will result in you achieving all of your wildest dreams. If someone says you can't do it, prove them wrong. The only thing stopping you from having everything you've ever wanted is you, assuming you know your limitations, assuming you know yourself. You can do anything you want. Just believe in yourself.
The most important lessons that Kincorth Academy have taught me haven't been in a classroom, but rather outside it. I've learned that life is too short to hold grudges, that the world is a much more beautiful place when you try to find at least one good quality about a person and that, with your friends and family by your side, there isn't a single thing that you can't overcome or succeed in.
Such a huge percentage of our lives have been spent in education, but the amount of qualifications we have isn't how the school will measure how successful they have been in teaching us, but rather by what sort of adults we are growing up to be.
And judging by the people in our year, I'd say they've done a pretty good job.
