Enjoy the moment but embrace change – in yourself as well as the world around

I’d like to begin by congratulating you all in your school exams this year. For some of us the end of exams will have felt like a huge relief, for some of us the end of exams will have been somewhat of an anti-climax, but for nearly all of us the end of exams will have signified the end of something that, at points, appeared to have no end.

There are many things in our lives that often give us the feeling that they are endless. A DofE hike, a detention, or a game of cricket you don’t want to be playing in… any game of cricket for that matter! It is very easy to often get caught up in our lives and feel that there is no end to things that are taking place, and that no change is going to happen. Friendships and the friendship groups we have, the pressures of work and the pressures from those around us, success and failure, confidence and insecurity, companionship and isolation. While all of this can seem so very real and permanent, it will and has to change, as does everything around us. The only thing that you can be certain of is that whatever you are experiencing will change. Who we are and how we live will be defined by the way that we react and cooperate with change. It is fair to say that between now and the beginning of next term, we are all going to change in one way or another. Whilst this step up may feel daunting, I urge you not to let it feel so. Do not fear change or be surprised by it. Seek it, celebrate it and embrace it.

So, I wish you all a great summer, and encourage you to change in the most positive way you can. Have fun, laugh a lot and enjoy everything around you whilst it’s happening. You never know how long it will be until things change again. Thank you.

Samuel Archer

Sixth Former – Reigate Grammar School