â
The most important thing that I learned at GGS was that almost everything is better in company. Those who have never been to boarding school wonder what it is like to be constantly surrounded by other people, to sacrifice our privacy for the sake of living at school. Often "GGS encourages us they take a critical when to do something, but it perspective imagining this, trusts us, and grants us somehow supposing the freedom to choose that it must be just what we will do." unpleasant. I think many of my friends would agree that itâs actually fantastic, that the abundance and availability of friends is what sets our lives at the School above the rest. I can hardly explain why we feel this way, but I know it has something to do with the comfort, encouragement and frequent comedy of being so interconnected with other people. It is often noted that GGS people tend to stay together after Year 12, that whether in Melbourne or Canberra, the UK or the US, we tend to hold onto each other. This is also sometimes criticized, though I think that it is a reflection of a mutual understanding of the value of relationships which is cultivated. I think that I am most proud of the fact that I managed to make close enough friends that,
LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL
even though I have basically been out of the light blue loop since 2014, I can get in touch with any one of them without the slightest hint of guilt or awkwardness. I remember that it was this very goal which I spoke about at Perryâs valedictory dinner, of never letting the banter and camaraderie fade. I am proud that we, and it seems very many of those in my 2014 cohort, have been able to keep this up. I would be most proud to imagine that in our last year, Billie Hook (Gaâ14) and I were able to influence the experiences of our peers just enough to encourage the persistence of friendship within our cohort into the future. Iâm currently working at a hedge fund in Tokyo for the summer and may be making a brief trip home before my sophomore year begins, which I hope will give me the chance to see so many friends and family whom I have missed! What is my aim in life? My first reaction to this question is just to laugh â to laugh at the incredible difficulty of trying to answer it. I know that I am far too young to come up with anything specific, and even in broader terms, I can hardly say. All I know is that I was incredibly happy at GGS and so, if I can at some stage look back on my life with the fondness that I feel about my time at the School, then I will be satisfied. Friendship, service, fun, challenge and community are what I remember most, so if I can fill my life with these simple things, Iâll have achieved my aim. GGS encourages us to do something, but it trusts us, and grants us the freedom to choose just what we will do. I believe that this allows us to both learn a lot about ourselves and express ourselves through what we do. Iâd like to be comfortable and kind, have many adventures and engage in the kind of philanthropy that made all of this possible for me.
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SECTION 04 â THE MAIL ROOM
was my home, that before one of the most stressful days of my life to that point I could be distracted by such a simple yet incredibly privileged pleasure. It is really the collaboration of small moments like this, of jokes over dinner, of debates in the classroom, and of the general appreciation of the quality of the campus and the people, which forms my memory of GGS.