Message from 

the Principal

Be the Best Version of You 

I remember clearly and somewhat painfully how challenging my adolescent years were as I travelled through secondary school, seeking to establish my identity, discovering my strengths, overcoming my doubts and working out who I was.

That search for your identity is difficult and uncomfortable. Asking yourself “Who am I?”, “What do I want to be?”, What will I be known for?” and wondering why does everyone else seem so sorted, so confident in who they are while I was still constantly searching. You believe that this search for discovering who you are is unique to yourself and that others are not navigating a similar journey.

My many years of experience working with adolescents as they progress through secondary school has taught me very clearly that nearly all students are on such a journey of self-discovery, questioning themselves, wondering who they are and who they will become. No matter how your peers might appear, (and I have no doubt I probably appeared confident and sorted) everyone is on that journey of self-discovery. They all share self-doubt and an uncertainty of their identity. 

To be frank this journey does not disappear as we leave school and one continues to grow and learn about yourself, discovering strengths and capacities, developing values and perspectives but for most it is the adolescent years at school where this journey is most intense.

As you navigate this course of self-discovery and time of challenge and uncertainty, I believe it is most important that you are kind to yourself as you travel, as you discover. We are all walking this path and as I have observed over the years, many in their private thoughts can talk to themselves in a way they would never tolerate being spoken to by others. If that is you, speaking to yourself in an unkind inner voice, then you need to have a word with yourself, or speak to someone else who can help you change that inner narrative. If you wouldn’t tolerate someone else talking to you like that, then you must not allow your inner voice to speak that way unchecked either. And also, be kind to each other, because the person next to you is almost certainly on their own complex journey too.

Importantly, your search for your identity is not as introspective as one might think. You will discover who you are by virtue of your interactions with others. Are you kind? Are you supportive? Are you encouraging? Are you a team player? Are you selfish? Are you cruel? Alasdair Macintyre, the Scottish-American philosopher wrote that ‘I am, forever, whatever I have been at any time, for others.’ This statement establishes a high standard but I believe it is one well worth remembering.

A quotation from Lily Tomlin, the highly successful American actress and comedian is highly relevant to this theme of self-discovery, “I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realise I should have been more specific.” Each of you are not ‘just somebody’. You are you – and you are the only person you can be. So be yourself. You are unique, you don’t need to be, or look like, or talk like, to behave like anyone else.

We often say at Kinross Wolaroi “Be the best version of yourself that you can be” – but it is easy to focus on being the best and neglecting the more important element of the phrase which is “being the best version of yourself”. 

I don’t pretend this is an easy task and no one else lives and experiences your particular individual journey. But remember:

• nearly everyone is trying to work out who they are too – you are not alone in this search for meaning and identity – so relax.
• This journey does not end, throughout life we are all continuing to evolve and make sense of it all – this is an intrinsic part of the human condition.
• Be kind to yourself. If you speak to your inner self in an unkind or intolerant way – have a word to yourself or ask for help.
• And remember – give others a break too: in a world where you can be anything, be kind, because, for better or worse, how we are with other people goes a long way to defining who we really are.
• And finally, resist the urge to be someone else. Be the best version of yourself, by definition, that means you don’t need to try and be someone else.