Head Girl, Claire Butterfield and

Head Boy, Andrew Komlodi

Closing Speech 2009

So there are these two fish swimming along, and they happen to swim past an older, perhaps wiser fish swimming the other way. He nods at them and says, “Mornin’ boys, how’s the water?” The two young fish look at each other briefly, but keep swimming. Eventually one says to the other, “what on earth is water?” Right now, we graduates are the two young fish. We take the world for granted; our school, our families, our peers. We haven’t learned yet to properly value our experience, and I would say that a lot of us don’t give GNS the credit that it deserves, because, like those two fish, we have not yet begun to truly know the value and magnitude of our experience at school.

Over the last few weeks, I have felt a bit like those cartoon characters who run off cliffs, and keep running in mid-air, until they look down and see that there is no longer any ground under their feet and go, Uh Oh, I’m flying, or falling, I can’t quite tell which… The end of the school year has always meant that I would be starting the next grade at GNS in the fall. But now, all of a sudden, there is no ground under my feet, just air, and I am going to be embarking on a new journey come September, moving beyond my comfort zone, and experiencing a new life that doesn’t have Mrs. Chatterton or Mr. Zuk feeding my brain everyday. As I write my last exam on Thursday of this week, I will say goodbye to walls that have watched me grow from a girl to a young woman; walls that have watched all of the grads behind me grow into the people that we are today.

In my eight years at the school, I have been nurtured and cultivated in everything that I do. I have been presented with opportunities that have played a large role in shaping who I am. The education that I have received is second to none, and one that goes so far beyond the classroom. The IB has taught me to reflect and to think critically, two of the most important skills in life. The Round Square has allowed me to connect with the international community. GNS is an unfailing support system that helps us along as we grow, feeding us knowledge, driving us towards our goals, and providing us with the tools to meet these goals. Tonight, as I watch all 71 of my fellow classmates walk across the stage, I know that this support system, although they may not realize it nor admit it right now, has played a monumental role in their lives thus far.

Each of us is strong individually, but we are even stronger because we have been taught what community is. I know that someday, and I’ll make you a bet on this one, I will end up teaching at and/or sending my kids to GNS because the experience of a community as tight and caring as this one is rare. Three years ago my aunt Joy died as a result of a car accident in India. Joy was a Norfolk House Girl, and at the age of 51, was still closely connected with many of her Norfolk House friends. Joy had not lived in Victoria, or in Canada, for more than 30 years; she left for Europe right after she graduated, fell in love, and settled in Italy. When news of the accident got out, her community and especially her friends from Norfolk House rallied around the family in a most amazing way. Even classmates she hadn’t been in touch with for many years offered their love and support to her family. I will never forget that, because it reflects the essence and power of the GNS community.

So let’s imagine where we’ll be in 20 years… Whether my dear partner in crime Andrew is the head of a radical political party, Dan is a gaming software programmer, Kiersten is an international basket ball star, Heather is singing Carmen at the Met, Gabe is the next Schwarzenegger, Emma is the next Jane Austin, Cam and Iain are running a comedy show, or Drew is driving for Team Porsche in Germany, our GNS connections will still stand like a fortress.

On behalf of Andrew and I and the Grad class of 2009, I would like to thank our teachers. You have been mentors and knowledge bearers inside the classroom, and dear friends elsewhere. Your job is paramount, and you deserve huge recognition for the effect that you have on our lives. We sincerely thank you. To the staff and all those who work behind the scenes, thank you: you make our day-to-day routines possible, and enable our success. To the students, in particular the Grads, thank you for being you idiosyncratic, rambunctious, rebellious, dedicated, loveable selves, we are all in this together, and couldn’t have made it without each other’s support and friendship. To the prefect team; what an incredible group of people – that’s all I can say. And finally, to the parents, your commitment to our growth as individuals cannot be praised enough. You have driven us to music lessons, watched us play soccer in the cold and rain, and uncomplainingly picked us up at three in the morning more often than you’d ever anticipated. Thank you so much for your support and love; none of us would be up here without you.

And so to wrap up, my words of wisdom? Always look on the bright side of life. But in the words of Elle Woods, the heroine of Legally Blonde, “It is with passion, courage of conviction, and strong sense of self that we take our next steps into the world. You must always have faith in people, but most importantly you must always have faith in yourself.” Congratulations Class of 2009, Thank you.

My fellow Americans...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. Wait, that’s not it. Umm...this was their finest hour, a day that will live in infamy...Mmm oh God, where is it? is this the boat show...maybe? Nope. The GNS closing ceremonies?! Yyyyesss! Yes, oui, oui, rrright, okay, here we go, ready to roll. May the school please stand, OH, no, sorry, wrong bit. Here we are...

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Glenlyon Norfolk School closing ceremonies. I came to GNS in Grade 10. I wasn’t a lifer, I was the new kid, and it was a somewhat daunting situation. Not only was the school new, the city was new, too. But, it didn’t take long for the good, good people of this school to embrace me and in turn, help me embrace my new home. GNS has been a home to me, and while on the one hand I’m thrilled never to write a math test again in my life, I know I will miss all the extraordinary people I’ve spent these years with. I’d like to thank everyone for making the experience what it was, and for perhaps foolishly entrusting me with the responsibility and opportunity of being your Head Boy. Why you elected me, I don’t know...but it has been an experience I shall remember forever.

I think the ultimate reason why ours is such a fine institution, is the attitude we share. At my old school in Calgary, the school motto was “Nil Nisi Optimum” – which translates to “nothing but the best”. Now, I love my old school, but compare this if you will, to GNS’s motto “Do Your Best through Truth and Courage”. This motto, and the attitude it reflects, is a much healthier, wholesome, and accepting one. That is what sets us apart. At the end of the day it really doesn’t matter so much if we “beat” others. What matters is that we do the best we can, and that we do it with integrity. It is not just what we do...but also how we do it. It is who we are. That’s the important distinction, and one we must never forget.

As a student of thirteen years, I must admit the study of English has actually sort of grown on me, and throughout my many years of English classes one work has stood out as my favourite: Ulysses by Alfred Tennyson. In it, an aged Odysseus urges his fellow heroic and noble friends to never give up. He urges them to relive their days of youth, to seek out adventure, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before! He challenges them to live, and to join with him in his renewed purpose – to sail beyond the sunset:

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and though

We are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

We all grow up, and we all grow old. I ask...when we are old, what will we have to look back on? Will we, like Odysseus, have hearts strong in will? Strong in the memories of youth and greatness? Or will we have wasted away our opportunity - the gift of youth endowed to us all? You’re only young once, and you only live once. I challenge all of you to “Freeze each moment a little bit longer, make each impression a little bit stronger”

Ladies and gentlemen, the group behind me has been going to school for five days a week, from 8:15 until 3:20 every day, for twelve years. In some ways, that’s really all we know. Doing differently is foreign to us, and even a little intimidating. Graduating is a milestone in our lives; a symbolic, poignant and joyous end to an era. I’m a boy, and I’m a man – and that is a situation I can face with strength, pride, and great memories to reflect on. Now, as we proudly move on to a different but equally illuminated pathway – setting out sights upwards in the pyramid of life – we do so united by this irreplaceable common experience.

I’d like to quote Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the second-best captain of the USS Enterprise. Those of you who have suffered through my Star Trek references in assemblies may have seen this coming.

“Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived.”

Well, that’s probably easier for Jean-Luc to say, because the life expectancy for someone living in the 24th century would probably be markedly higher than ours! But ultimately I think that the captain was right. Time is a companion. We have to accept that at the end of the day...we’re only mortal, and our time on this earth is finite. Life is short, it leaves us with but a few real opportunities, and like Robert Herrick wrote in his poem “To the Virgins”... we have to seize the day. We have to make something of ourselves. And we will – each in our own ways, each different and unique from one another. 3 years down the road, 33 years...3000 years down the road, my friends – these bright shiny faces – will have made their mark.

But these fine students will probably face a much more challenging world than generations past. Greek mythology tells us of Sisyphus, tormented by Zeus to push a rock up a mountain only to watch it roll back down and repeat the process for eternity. Like Sisyphus, we will all face struggles, be forced to push our own boulders up our own mountains, but unlike Sisyphus I know that we all have it within ourselves to succeed at our task, to defeat the boulder and maybe even the Gods. It is in the push, the fight, that we achieve. And it is after and because of that achievement, in the stroll back down the craggy slope, amidst often barren surroundings, that we find happiness. Ladies and Gentlemen, this new world – with its dictates and orders – poses threats both never before imagined, and threats as old as humanity itself. But, while the path may not always be paved, and the skies not always clear, I know with all that is within me that we will not falter. In fact, I am certain that together, united, we can meet any challenge, and overcome any weakness.

As we, the graduating class of 2009, depart this building today, we will be both concluding and beginning a new chapter of our lives; embarking on a continuing mission of enlightenment, achievement, and more than anything else principled happiness.

To the parents, and especially to the staff...don’t cry. We know you’ll all be missing us terribly. To the students in the audience, enjoy the ride. You may not be nuts about school now, but believe it or not, I’m starting to miss it already. Cherish every moment. And to the graduating class of 2009, you’ve taught me as much as anyone. You’ve been my friends and family...quite simply, you were the wind beneath my wings. Ladies and Gentlemen, “School’s out for summer!” Live long and prosper, everybody! Thank you, congratulations, and goodnight!