Grit: The Beginning of Every Pearl
Life can be messy but Allard House Co-Captain and Football Captain, Phoebe, shows true grit by never giving up.
Each week, our student leaders share their insights with their peers in Assembly.
I have a confession to make. I’m in love. Unrequited love. Not with a person — no, no — but with the Athletics Carnival.
The chants, the chaos, the costumes … there’s just something magical about seeing Year 12s dressed up as inflatable animals, brides, and rockstars, all in the name of House spirit. It fills my heart like nothing else.
I don’t mean to brag but this year, I achieved something truly special. I broke my very own school record, I became the first Wenona girl ever to hit myself in the head by my javelin two years in a row.
Now, I won’t lie. I was a little hesitant to sign up for javelin again this year. The emotional and physical scars from last year were still all too raw. But with some gentle encouragement from my friends and my stubborn determination to win House points for Allard, I pushed past my fear and signed up.
As I began to prepare for my event, Ms Grun kindly reminded my Senior College competitors of my history of javelin disaster. I stretched, visualised greatness, and kept an eye out for any potential Olympic scouts in the crowd. This was my redemption story. My javelin moment. I took a deep breath, lined up my shot, and …
It hit me. Again.
Back. Head. Ego.
Down went the javelin, and with it, my dreams of being the first Wenona Javelin Olympian.
So, you’re probably wondering, what does my javelin tragedy have to do with ‘No grit, no pearl’?
Well, everything.
Pearls, as you might know, form when an oyster gets an irritant inside its shell — something uncomfortable, even painful. But instead of giving up, the oyster coats it again and again until something beautiful forms. That pearl only exists because of the grit.
In life, the best things don’t come easy. They’re messy. Sometimes painful. Sometimes very bruised. But they’re worth it — because they allow us to grow and help us appreciate what really matters.
That’s what grit is. It’s getting hit in the head by a javelin twice and still showing up with a smile and a ridiculous costume because you love being part of something bigger than yourself. It’s about gratitude — not just for the big wins, but for the hilarious failures, the shared moments, the hugs after the fall, and the friends who cheer you on whether you come first or don’t even make the grass.
I’d like to share a quote from the most iconic Christmas movie, Love Actually: “Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport.” Me? I think about the Athletics Carnival. I think about the laughter, the bruises, the hugs, the chaos, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
So here’s what I ask of you today: think of something you’re grateful for. Maybe it’s a person, a moment, a memory. More often than not, the things that shape us — the pearls — are hidden in the day-to-day grit we forget to appreciate. I ask you not to focus on the big pearls we spend our time working towards, but rather the little pearls we collect along the way.
Year 12, whether we’re ready or not, our time at Wenona is coming to an end. Soon, this beautiful school community will be a memory, not a reality. No more spontaneous catch-ups. No more spontaneous dance parties. No more laughing, crying, and hugging in West Commons. Instead of being sad, let's appreciate what we have managed to build – the friendships, the spirit, the moments that have shaped our year group. These are our pearls, and we earned them through continually showing up and giving our all.
This is an edited version of Phoebe’s Assembly speech.