Beyond Year 12, The Class of 2016

Well Year 12 team of 2016, its here at last, that time you were told the focus of your school years, the HSC, the exam of exams, and its so important, you were told, that how you score in the various subjects over the next few weeks will determine your life outcomes. 

What a crock of crap. Seriously on behalf of every parent, Aunt, uncle and every teacher who drummed that message home into your head, so now it has become this huge Blob that threatens to consume your life, I want to say "we are sorry, we lied, we told a porky". The real truth lies within the community you live, the communities you will move and the world you are yet to discover. 

Around you are people who are successful and live amazing lives and they seriously stuffed up at school. In fact school wasn't and isn't designed for todays learners or yesterdays. For lots of kids young and old, its an alien life form that that you have to try and live with and be inspired by. It's mired on old ways of teaching, it is befuddled with clutter and no time to dream, to wonder or be inspired.

The HSC was once the factor determing whether you ended up at TAFE, Uni or no where in particular. Can I say here that a number of very successful business people in this community never set foot in TAFE or Uni and still managed to be successful. Truth be told University was a goal our parents had for all of us, because it was something that they never really had an opportunity to aspire to or even afford. 

Gough Whitlam changed all that, and while many in this country still go on about levels of incompetence of his Govt, you cannot deny he had vision and guts. Universal Health Coverage (Medicare), Free University (Yes the progressive govt's that followed Whitlam managed to slowly unravel the great equalities he put in place , and which our generation reaped the reward of.

Anyway we think that Uni and its bit of paper is the goal in life and with that bit of paper the world will be at your feet. It won't and it isn't. You no doubt will start at uni, but a few of you will drop out within the first semester, yep you should had that Gap year not quite ready for the jump, some of you will change courses (a few times), some will change Uni, and some of you will drop out and travel the world. 

There are those in this 2016 batch who will never leave Griffith, they will remain behind, continue the Kardashian Traditions that they know and love, layers upon layers of fake tan, mothers sneaking into their daughters wardrobes to try on latest skirt. Fathers will purchase their sons first (2nd, 3rd) car, no doubt a Suberu WRx or maybe something more upmarket. Holidays might be the Gold Coast every year and maybe once will be the grand tour of Europe. But thats it. Hey there is shame in not moving away, just as long as you are prepared to be involved in the community and pay it forward. 

All of you have dreams, some of them might feel a bit weighed down under the dreams and aspirations of others, (and they do that because they love you and also through your success will come some of theirs, because maybe they never quite got there). So I want you to focus on what is the one thing that is you completely, what, of all the in roles, positions or people you would want to be, be like or do , what would it be? 

Thats your goal, forget the rest, if you need the education to get that goal - then shoot for it and give your best, aim high. But in your goal is not there, then don't squander time or opportunity. Follow your passion, follow your dream, or if the study is the road you need to take to get out of town, and your dream will travel with you, do it. 

I sit in a very privileged space.  I watch with nearly 36 years of my life in early childhood teaching and all those young children, growing through school, taking on leadership roles, sporting achievements and creative ones too. I see success everywhere I look, I see sadness too, kids and families who never quite made it through, I also see those who have really struggled hard to get their dream to become a reality, but it does happen, more often than not we give up just as we are about the hit the take off point, because we fail to understand what it is that drives us to achieve and be who we are or should be. 

The strongest dreams or aspirations we have, are those that we are emotionally entangled with. They are the oxygen life source to our existence. They mean so much, that to separate you from it would be catastrophic, but thats the focus of your life. that s your passion. 

So while all you can see is the lights at the Area, on the night of your last exam as your goal for now, never lose sight of the way you will contribute to our world that moves it forward, brings hope to others, challenges us to do better, or maybe takes us to the stars. 

On 13th October, 2016,  Bob Dylan received the Nobel Prize for Literature. A brilliant song writer and story teller, not the worlds greatest singer, but he is the first Musician to win the most prestiges award possible. His stories of our time, told through the poetry of his lyrics, were (and are) powerful when first released and still resonate today. (not sure how many of todays musicians would say that about their sons) But Bob Dylan is an example of how everyone on this planet contributes to its story and its future. You just need to follow your passion and keep writing the story, you story, of you and the mark you make on this blue rock. 

The fact that you made it to end of high school is remarkable, but that really was to keep you some where until you had enough life skills too cope on your own. But now its just the beginning of your life, and you carry with you the best wishes of your family, and they have worked hard, and sacrificed a few things along the way, to ensure that you have had the best opportunities to achieve, their parents also sacrificed to ensure that your parents had opportunity to. So on your shoulders sit the dreams, passions, life source and knowledge of generations that have been here and left us. So do them the honour of being they bets example fo of you that you can find. Its okay if you don't find it right now, you most likely wont find that real you for a couple of years, life will throw some hurdles your way too, some will higher than you thought, but always jump over or crash through, don't stop and say they have won or I can't do it. 

Be remarkable, be truthful and honest, always share, and give forward, participate, volunteer, and love like your life depends on it (just use condoms), and yes broken hearts hurt like crazy and it can be so bad that you want to stop the pain, don't, the pain is there for a reason, it reminds us that love and life is painful, and when we miss it so much that tehvery air seems to have been sucked out of us that we know we have truly loved. So when next we fall in love, we will know how right the other person is because the pain of being away form them is even more intense. 

Always remember the qualities of the person you fall in love with, remind yourself of those each and every day, because when the rough days come by those sustained strong memories of why and how you fell in love are the reasons say sorry and I love you.

So go rule the world - be the difference.

(this was first published on Facebook on 13th Oct)