Winsome Sithlou was declared Valedictorian of graduating batch of 2019, Tetso College. In her valedictorian speech, she shares an honest confession of what students experience, challenges, heartwarming memories and advice on how one can approach college life better and to always dream big.
Dream. Think. Do
3 years ago, if someone told me I would be giving this speech, I would never have believed it because looking back, I was a different person than whom I am today. Back then, I thought that maybe I had potential, but I was never going to be that person who could achieve anything as big as being a gold medalist. After I was done with class 12, I did not want to study anymore and wanted to do my bachelor’s degree for the sake of it. I would not even have studied in this college if it was not for my mother who wanted the best for me. I was looking for a convenient place, far from any competition where no one would push me to do things out of my comfort zone because I thought that I was not good enough. But once I became a student of Tetso College, I found myself changing and growing, taking up tasks that were new to me. I met great friends and even found new hope to make an effort and try my best. In my second semester, I found a new respect for education and realised that I want to continue my further studies. I set a goal for my life to be excellent and to succeed. Keeping this goal in mind I tried my best to do well every semester, pushed myself and now, here I am with the biggest achievement of my life.
Being aimless and laid back won’t take us anywhere. We should set a goal, and it can be as simple as graduating with a good CGPA. Then we should make an effort to try, even if it means sacrificing something else. I had to sacrifice a lot of things so that I could do well in college, whether it was coming for a test even when I was sick, or missing out on other fun things for good attendance. But all of those sacrifices have paid off. We all hope or dream about something, but without working for it, it will only remain a dream So it is important that we have a vision and a plan to execute it, one step at a time, as said by Richard M. Kovacevich “A vision and strategy aren’t enough. The long-term key to success is execution. Each day. Every day.”
Through this institution, teachers and friends, I have learnt to talk to people, to be cooperative, confident, persistent, and grateful at the same time, and to be more independent.
One of the important things I learnt is not to be afraid of failing because these mistakes and failures makes us grow and become wiser and stronger. They prepare us for our future. J. K. Rowling said, “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default”.
While we reminisce all the beautiful memories from the past 3 years, we should also remember the difficult times that have brought us to where we are today. Sometimes we feel that we’re not going anywhere in life, that we’re not good enough and we tend to compare our lives with other people. During these kinds of times, I’ve learnt another important thing, that is to stop for a moment and look at how far I’ve come in life and be grateful for the things I have, and trust God that I will be able to take up the challenges placed in front of me. Once we take the stance to do certain things we’re afraid of, we overcome our fear of it. As I speak in front of you today, I’m overcoming one of my fears.
We are all blessed with quality education and the best facilities and infrastructure in Tetso College. Yet sometimes, we take things for granted and search for things that we don’t have. I am also guilty of this. We should learn to make the best use of what we have and appreciate the education we’re receiving, as there are thousands of others who would wish to be in our place. We are all unique individuals, gifted with different kinds of skills and talents. We have so much potential. The world waits for each of us to give what we have. Focus and think about what you can give to your society. If you feel that you’re not capable of doing anything great in life, trust me, I feel the same sometimes as well. But I want to tell you that I believe that each of us have so much within us that we must bring out to show our full potential. It may take some time to know our true capabilities, but don’t ever give up on yourselves.
Lastly, I would like to encourage you to make good choices. It is our choices that we make today that shapes our tomorrow. It is by choice that we are students of Tetso College, and it is our choice whether or not we will take everything that is being taught here, in the classroom as well as in other activities, for the betterment of our lives. Surround yourselves with positivity, stick with people who will lift you up and help you to grow, and try to learn as much as you can. This way you can strive for excellence. Remember to put God first and He will take care of you. To conclude, I would like to say that these 3 years have been the best years of my life and I am going to take everything I’ve learnt here to build my future. I also want to congratulate all my batch mates for graduating, you are all amazing and I wish you all the very best for your future endeavours. And finally to quote Michael Josephson, “Take pride in how far you’ve come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don’t forget to enjoy the journey”. Thank you.
Degree of Thought is a weekly community column initiated by Tetso College in partnership with The Morung Express. Degree of Thought will delve into the social, cultural, political and educational issues around us. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the institution. Tetso College is a NAAC Accredited UGC recognised Commerce and Arts College. The editors are Dr Hewasa Lorin, Dr. Aniruddha Babar, Noyingbeni T. Erui, Meren and Kvulo Lorin.
For feedback or comments please email: dot@tetsocollege.org