All good things...

Yesterday I finished school. That’s it. I walked out of my last exam surprised to be still alive but stoked nonetheless. This marks the resumption of my regular blogging. To mark this I thought I might share some of the more memorable moments of the past 6 years of schooling.

It began in 2005, when I first walked through the gates at St Joseph’s College. Little did I know of the impact this place was to have on me. The first year involved proving my worth and impressing myself upon a group of 130 boys (which would grow to almost 200 by our final year) all hoping to do the same. This first year presented me with the first instance of what was on offer – this came in the form of a trip to Japan. I learnt Japanese for 5 of my 6 years at Joeys, and this allowed me to travel to Japan several times. I was lucky enough to visit cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Nagano, and the surrounding areas. I travelled back to Japan at the end of 2005, as well as in 2007.

In between trips to Japan I was fortunate enough to score myself 1st place in Japanese in both my first 2 years, as well as forging out my place in the sporting life of the college, competing in the ‘A’ grade for tennis in all 3 years of the first half of my high schooling, 2 of which were undefeated, championship winning teams.

Moving in to the senior half of my high school experience, I was lucky enough to be picked at this early stage to move into the senior elite opens tennis teams, usually reserved for the older, more experienced players. I would remain in this team for my final 3 years, and the mental and physical lessons that were learnt on the courts were invaluable. The photo of me on the right is me walking off the courts for the very last time back in April.

This involvement also allowed me to travel to Melbourne in January of the last 3 years, to train and play, as well as experience the Australian Open, which was always great to be a part of.

Last year I experienced what was probably one of the most amazing things I have done. I have a strong passion for football (soccer ), and I follow the English league to a great degree. As part of the development of the sport at my school (which is traditionally a rugby school), 30 boys were selected to tour the UK and Spain to play, train with and watch the very best. We trained at clubs like Liverpool, Chelsea, Charlton and Espanyol, watched various league matches and played several friendly games in Wales, England and Spain. I have previously posted about this trip so if you would like to, check that out.

Well there it is, and 6 years later I have left that world to pursue whatever comes next.

Wish me luck

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