SHIRLENE SONATA

SPEECH WRITE UP

Hello everyone, I’m Shirlene from Year 11. It is my honour to speak with you today during this joyous occasion.

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I would like to start by sharing my personal memory of my first day of school. It is because this moment is what led me to become who I am today. I would not be the person everyone knows, I would not be the same person that you often saw; the one who is always doing silly things while you're passing by our Year 11 hallway.

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When I first came to Havil, it was a new school in a different country and environment, I had zero knowledge about the culture and society in Malaysia and undoubtedly, I was nervous and scared of not being able to socialize with our dear Havilians.

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I remember clearly how welcoming my classmates were when I took my first step inside the class. They started making small conversations with me and from just a few days of knowing them, we had formed inseparable friendships. During this final year at Havil, I have not only been battling with my studies, my future career choice, but also my inner self. It is during these times that my friends were ready to be my leaning pillar just like how I will always be theirs.

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Looks can be deceiving and my Year 11 time has not been all flowers and rainbows, as some may have thought. To be completely transparent, it has been one of the most hectic years of my whole schooling journey. People often see me as a person who is very ambitious, but deep down, I am actually apprehensive to start anything.

For one of the most important events for Red House, I was very unsure if I should take it on. Havil students, can you guess what event it was? I am talking about Red House Day. I was uncertain if I would help the event become a success and I was also so scared to mess it up. I ended up confiding in my friends about it and rather than just saying “I know you can do this!”, they listened and genuinely gave me ideas while trying to reduce my burden. They were always there when I needed help; I believe I won't be able to successfully hold that 1 week of celebration without their support. Besides this event, I went through many breakdowns throughout the year and I am glad to have my best friends who were and are always there for me.

I would like everyone to know that our lives are not perfect and neither are we, our life is full of thunder,  windstorms and rain. However, once you have found the right group of friends, don’t try to face your problem alone; tear down that wall you have built and lean on them.

It worked for me and it has built me to become this person that I am now. I am able to gain confidence through them as well as knowledge. I am forever thankful to have them in my life.

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Before ending this speech, I would like to thank all my past teachers who are no longer here in Havil as well as my current teachers. Here is my quick shout out to the teachers who have been guiding me until this point of my life as a student. Firstly, I would like to thank my class teacher, Mr Phan, who would always cheer us up early in the morning merely by his sole presence. Next, thank you to Ms Lydia who had been helping me improve my essay writing skills. Not forgetting how business studies has never been more easy with Mr Lee’s clear teaching and explanations, as well as his guidance until our examination day. Also, Mrs Catherine’s way of teaching is the best, if I did end up taking chemistry for my IGs, I would definitely score an A due to her wonderful way of teaching. Ms Emily has been very patient with me throughout my learning time in Mandarin class and I am very thankful that she would divide her time to teach me personally from the rest of the students. Lastly, I’m really thankful towards Mr Richard who accepted to take me in when there was only a few months left before our exams. I am thankful for the fact that he did not mind spending extra time to teach me and guide me through the Malay exam procedures. I would not make it this far without their guidance.

Thank you.