End of My Year as Head Girl + Valedictory Speech

She's been a pretty big year

So it is all over. Back to plain, boring Stevee.

Yes, last night I handed over the reins to next year's Head Girl, and my largely inflated life has been deflated. Which is weird, and now that I have a bit of alone time, I'm starting to feel a bit sad about it all.

It sounds cliched, but this year really has gone quite fast. I remember going to my first meeting with the principal at the start of the year, and he said how fast the year would go and how time management would be my most in demand skill. He wasn't lying. I remember putting on my uniform at the start of the year and realising that I was actually Head Girl, and freaking out. I remember the buzz of seeing my name up on the prefect board, and also on the permanent library board that has all of the past Head Prefects. Everything after that became sort of a blur.

The perks of being a Head Prefect

Yes, this has been a tough year. I had my fair share of breakdowns, dealt with two of the worst kind of things that have happened within the Year 13 group in quite some time, had to become the "adult in charge" of our year group because we had no teachers on side. I've been stressed beyond belief, I've cried a lot, it was a challenge. But it was also something I was kinda born to do. I found it surprisingly natural to be able to juggle everything (hello, stage challenge rehearsals until 4pm, then work at 4pm where I'd do my homework). I was surprised about how much motherly instinct I had, and how I became the one who grounded my entire year group. I honestly can't say there was a point where I said "I can't do this". Points of difficulty, yes, but I'd always find a way through.

Which is what makes me immensely proud of this journey. My principal said last night that my Head Boy and I were two of the best he'd ever seen, in both NZ and South Africa. He said that we set the standard sky high. And that's something that I really wanted out this year: I really wanted to instil this hope in young people that they had a voice and they could actually make themselves noticed, because that's what being Head Prefects were all about. It wasn't about looking important, it was about getting involved, using initiative and just working your ass off for the whole year. And I'm glad I kinda changed that around a bit. Plus, getting the cup for Outstanding Service to the School was kinda amazing.

It has only been a day, but I'm struggling to come to terms with this all being over. High school will be a memory, and a good one at that. It was a place where I flourished, despite not being the prettiest, sportiest, most popular girl ever. I'm going to miss cleaning the common room every day at 2.20pm for everyone else, the really loud music we had every lunch time, leading assembly every second Tuesday, Wednesday morning toasties with the Head Prefect team, walking extremely fast everywhere, dying every weekend, having my diary full, spending all of my money at the canteen, walking to school every morning to either 'Power' by Kanye West, 'On Top' by Flume or 'Radio' by Lana Del Rey to hype me up for the day, working with my Head Prefects Chad, Seth and Emma...just everything. But at least I've made my mark on the school, which is really what I wanted to achieve. A new chapter is coming, as after the summer is done, I'll be leaving Dannevirke (finally) and going to Christchurch to study something I genuinely love. And I'm bloody glad I was Head Girl, because it has pretty much set me up for life - I'm ready to tackle anything now.

I'd really, really appreciate it if you guys could take the time to watch my valedictory speech, which was really the pinnacle that I was looking forward to all year. I know this isn't movie/blog related, but this year meant so much to me, and I have many feels. Earlier in the year, the lovely Ryan had this to say about me: "She is about to begin a particularly busy stretch of school, and as such needs to focus her energy elsewhere. There are people around the world who are drawn to one thing about her, but it’s one thing of many, and a thing that needs to be put aside for a while...we’ll all be proud of how you’ve gone on to do bigger and more important things than discuss movies."

It is weird to be such a prominent part of both 'worlds', but hopefully this'll make you proud, Ryan. High school was a huge success, but I really hope I didn't peak here.