Good morning/ Afternoon Mr. Zavone, Staff and Boys,
Before I begin my address to you all seated, I would like to acknowledge and congratulate every single one of you young men on making it this far in Term 1. It may seem like a small achievement; however, I understand that many of you are tackling assessment tasks or studying for upcoming exams as we near the end of this term. It’s not an easy period, especially settling back into a normal school year after last year’s setbacks. Although I have full faith you boys have been giving it your best within the classroom, handing in those assessments, and participating when necessary. Following on from that, I would like to thank all on an enjoyable and successful 2021 Eddies Swimming Carnival. A special thank you to Mr. Richardson and staff for organizing the event as well as everyone who raced, swam, dived and flipped raising points for your selected houses. Carnivals and events just like the swimming carnival are days for you boys to relax and enjoy yourselves, but it’s also a day of doing the things you enjoy with other brothers and teachers from around the college. I believe full-heartedly when I say I’m proud to have been part of such an inclusive event and I am sure that would be the case for most of you all seated. Overall boys, whether it’s been putting effort and passion into each piece of schoolwork, or participating in school activities and events, our performance as school united by brotherhood couldn’t be better.
Now onto the main topic of today’s address. I would like to share with you boys a story and show what I believe links quite well into what I’m about to discuss. To most of you boys and staff, these just seem like medals. But these wouldn’t be in my hands at this very moment if it weren’t for a special someone. For those who don’t know me well, before enrolling back into Eddies, I had been living in Townsville, North Queensland for 2 years prior. It wasn’t easy having only 3 weeks’ notice to pack up all our things and move to Townsville for those 2 years especially having spent 4 years already here at Eddies. When I got there, I felt like I needed something to push myself and become enthusiastic about to make the whole transition process a bit smoother. That’s where I found Rowing. It was the first sport I became hooked on and knew I could make something out of it to benefit myself by becoming both physically and mentally strong. Now, for those who don’t know anything about rowing there isn’t much to it. Just pulling two oars and getting across a finish line as quick as possible, simple right? Well, the one catch to it all is when you train. It’s 4 to 5 times a week which seems quite normal, but it begins every morning at 5am. As a 15- to 16-year-old boy at the time, it was quite difficult to get myself there every morning whether it was reasons like I couldn’t drive myself or just shear laziness getting up that early. However, there was one person who had been there by my side, pushing me and taking me to training every morning, My Mother. She was there every step of the way when my father was at work and kept me on track to eventually getting the medals I had just shown you all. Even outside of rowing and to this day, she would take the time out of her life to simply be there for me, giving me opportunities to be a better son and young man. Someone to talk to when I had been at probably the lowest points in my life and on the verge of doing something dumb or irresponsible. She hasn’t just helped me, but hundreds of others within her lifetime simply by being the most inspirational, thoughtful, and caring woman in my life. The reason I’ve shared this with you all here today is to talk about the women within our lives and how we as young men can make a change within our communities, society, and world. As most of you know, International Women’s Day was on Monday, the 8th of March. It’s a day where women and men around the world come together and acknowledge the achievements of each woman in our lives.
Whether it be a mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, maternal figure, friend, or teacher, we celebrate their contributions and the love they’ve given us as men. I stand here before you all today because I want to send a message, almost a favour of sorts, that I want you boys to take from this address if nothing else. And that one thing, is to respect the women within your lives. You don’t have to know them personally or as friends, but even towards any woman you may see beyond these college walls, I want you to show the utmost respect they deserve. Because it shouldn’t have to be only one day, we celebrate these women, but every day. Even the female staff at this college whose career is to facilitate your education with their wealth of knowledge, allow you to grow and prosper as you develop into young men. And as you boys leave this hall, I want you all to take a moment to thank your teachers in your next class and the women in your daily lives who would give you the world. As an Eddies boy, brother, and leader for you all, I believe we can make it our mission to show the respect these women deserve.
Before I finish this address, I’d like to leave you all with a quote from Sir Richard Branson, an English author and entrepreneur. The simple quote reads, “Respect is how to treat everyone, not just those you want to impress”. Now, I implore you to take that exert to heart and hope you all go out into our community as the Eddies Boys we all can aspire to be.
Thank You Lads, and Edmunds to the Fore.
Eden Mordike
College Vice Captain Mission