Yesterday we had a guest speaker, David Galea, who came to IFS to speak to students in years 5 to 11. His speech highlighted that despite setbacks in life, you should never give up. There are no excuses for not being able to achieve the goals you set.
The students were keen to find out about David and his life experiences. We learned that he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the age of 40 and is now confined to a wheelchair. Faced with a similar situation, many people may find excuses to give up and stop trying, to run from the barriers presented to them.
David shared his journey with us and demonstrated that things happen in life – the hurdles we face are sent to challenge us. They test us and sometimes force us to take a different direction in life. He also showed us that FEAR can be taken in two ways:
FEAR: Forget everything and run or face everything and rise.
This perspective on FEAR has stuck with me throughout the past 24 hours and I have spent much time reflecting on hurdles in my life – the barriers that have been placed before me, whether due to my own choices or those of others. I thought hard about which FEAR direction I took and I concluded that even though sometimes I wanted to forget everything and run, I actually chose to face everything and rise. I set goals and adapted to the new things presented to me. I had to reset my mindset.
At IFS students face barriers everyday, some are work related, some are personal. We see that many students choose to run from these barriers and avoid doing things because they are too hard. It’s not easy adapting to a new college and a new way of learning. Yet, if we can reset our mindsets and form some goals, with the support of teachers and staff, students will begin to understand that it is possible to adapt to new things and to jump those hurdles which stand in their way.
If David can overcome the physical barriers he faces everyday, in a wheelchair, I am sure that students at IFS can overcome their barriers too.
So set a goal, to face FEAR and to face everything and rise.
David has done it and is still doing it. I have done it. You can do it.
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