That's our girl...

...addressing the School Prize Giving evening in her capacity as Head Girl.

Mr R & I hadn't had a preview of her speech before she stood at the podium. I know I am biased but she was great, her speech content was great and she delivered it clearly and calmly.

The thing that struck me about Es is that she took this completely in her stride and she eat her dinner before heading on over to the school this evening. I point this out as I know I wouldn't have been eating my dinner had it been me heading to the school to address a packed assembly hall. There would have been no room for it because of the butterflies.

Grateful she is not like her Mammy on that front.

Very proud of our wee lassie.

Eilidh's speech...

Five years ago, I first entered Stirling High as a timid and tearful first year, too shy to even simply raise my hand in classes to answer a question. My nerves on my first induction day, were so bad that they managed to creep their way through the composure that I had cobbled together and destroy it, leaving me to exit my first assembly, in this hall early and in tears. If you had told that quiet, gawky first year, that was me in 2012 that she would even attempt to go for Head Girl, let alone actually attain the position, she’d be in tears; of either laugher, because she didn’t believe you, or of upset, because she thought that you were teasing.

But, I am not that first year anymore. My time at Stirling High has allowed me to grow both academically and as a person, through a wealth of curricular and extracurricular experiences that have been offered to me as I have progressed through the years. Myself and my peers are lucky to be able to come to a school where there seems to be no limits to what staff are willing to do to allow us to enjoy new experiences and reach our full academic potentials. From trips abroad to a range of locations such as Belgium, France and Germany to the huge plethora of clubs and extracurricular activities on offer, there is something offered for everyone. And it is due to the support and commitment of staff, pupils at Stirling High are allowed to flourish and achieve their full potential.

If there is one thing, that I have learned over the last five years, aside from pythagoras theorem and German verb tenses, it is this; always try. It is a simple message, but it is one that can take you so far in life. Michael Jordan once said, “My father used to say that it's never too late to do anything you wanted to do. And he said, You never know what you can accomplish until you try.” If I hadn’t gone for Head Girl, I wouldn’t be standing here in front of you today at the beginning of a year full of challenges and opportunities As prize winners you already know that if you try you will reap the rewards. Every journey begins with one step, and if you decide to take the first step and try, you never know where that journey will take you and what you will achieve on it.

So, throw yourself at every opportunity life presents you with; it is simply too short to hang back and wait. Yes, you may not be successful in every single thing that you try, but at least you gave it a go. Your dance moves in life may not always be the best; but getting up and dancing is a lot more fun than sitting on the bench alone.