Middle/Senior School Bulletin Issue 3 / 3 March 2017
Middle & Senior School News Courage and Wisdom are our themes for Term 1. Last week our College Captains led our Monday chapel and I’d like to share with you the wisdom they shared with students about courage. ‘In simple terms courage can be defined as one’s ability to face something that is frightening or daunting. Something that has the ability to challenge us either physically or emotionally. Living authentically is when our words, and our actions reflect our own personal beliefs and values. It is when we are honest with ourselves. Courage and living authentically can be said to coincide with one another as courage can be seen as one’s convictions, to act in accordance with one’s beliefs, especially in spite of criticism. This can be a very challenging notion, as highlighted in a quote from the famous German writer and statesman Goethe: “To think is easy. To act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult”. This quote is not only about being yourself but also establishes this idea that being yourself actually does take courage. A lot of us might find it easy to stand up and stand out and simply be who you are. But others don’t find it so simple. William Wallace was a typical of example of a man who was able ‘to act as one thinks’. Wallace was a man who clearly had great courage through his ability to live a life of authenticity. Even in the face of great adversity he stayed true to who he was and acted accordingly. He never refused to go against his own beliefs and values for even a second and as a result it led to his execution. He believed in something bigger then himself and was able to unite a people that was suppressed to stand up and fight for freedom. He is probably one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen, as he didn’t just live a life of great integrity but a life of authenticity. In our society there is this really bad and annoying thing that stops us from being ourselves. This is judgement. No matter what you do or how you do it someone is going to make some sort of judgment – positive or negative – and it takes a whole lot of courage to overcome those judgements and learn to care less about them. So that’s why we are here today, we want to help you take that step towards ‘being yourself’ and overcoming judgment. But in the same way, we want to encourage each of you to judge people less. Everyone around you is going through their own journey and experiencing their own hardships. For all you know the guy next to you might have lost his pet gecko last night. That’s tough.’ Jarred Connolly College Captain
‘I came to the realization that my life wasn’t something I was necessarily proud of as there were so many things I could have done differently. After coming to this realisation I felt it was time to change all that and give myself the confidence to live a life that was true to myself. Because I think the whole concept of having courage isn’t about facing your fears as such, but simply recognising that potential you have within yourself. Each of us has this incredible ability within us to do whatever we want! You simply let go of your fears, care less about what people think and care more about how you see yourself. How you want your life to pan out. Because that’s the thing. IT’S YOUR LIFE. Don’t wait until something bad happens before you realise this. Take this opportunity and create a life that makes you proud. Be confident and be you.’ Emily Burnell College Vice Captain ‘Everyone has had different experiences and are a part of different situations. This means their view on courage and what a courageous act is also differs from the people around them. For many people, public speaking is extremely challenging, for others it may be walk in the park. For some, looking out of a high rise window is scary because of the heights, where for others it is not difficult at all. This begs the question, is it our fears which define what we think is courageous? In many cases this is true. For the person afraid of the action it takes courage to face it. For the person who sees no difficulty in it, courage is not really needed. Often people will need support to tackle their fears and display courage in the face of adversity. For others, to offer support, we need to be authentic in what we need help with. Only once we are true and authentic to ourselves and then willing to communicate it to others, can we receive that support and tackle our fears and have the courage we need. Everyone’s different. We need to help others see things from our perspective before they can have any idea how to help us. This means staying authentic in your actions and accepting your faults.’ Alex Blackborough College Vice Captain ‘Martin Luther paved a way for people to love, not fear. For us to go to God at our worst and not be afraid. For us to recognise we are children of God and we are so so so loved. If nobody’s told you this already, God loves you so much. More than you could ever dream of. More than you could ever begin to understand. This is why Martin Luther risked his life, he wanted you all to hear that. It took a foundation in faith and blind hope so you could hear this today. Martin Luther lived and breathed the words in Ephesians 2:10. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” I know