Breaking up is hard to do...

Saying goodbye is something I find difficult to do and unfortunately, it is something that I have had to do a lot recently. There are never enough words to express how truly grateful you are for the years of friendship, how lonely you know you will be without the love of family or how hard it will be to get used to a new way of life.

I have yet to attempt to say goodbye to my family and friends, but already I have felt the deep emotions associated with leaving behind a long relationship. Saying goodbye to Highsted, the community where I have studied and worked over the past eight years, was one of the hardest things I have had to do in a long time.

Many people dread going to school: they hate the work, the responsibility, the effort involved in studying. I was never one of these people. Being at Highsted is something I have truly loved and will always appreciate. I recognise that were it not for the values Highsted taught me or the support offered to me, I would not be faced with the many opportunities ahead of me today.

When attempting to write my final assembly I knew that there were no words that would ever fully convey the many amazing experiences I have had over the past eight years or effectively explain everything I had learnt from my education, but I knew there was one thing every Highsted girl can appreciate. A sense of humour.

Without a sense of humour the world would be a far more difficult place. This is a sentiment, I believe, that is shared by many a Highsted Girl and one that keeps us going in the most stressful of times. Of all the lessons Highsted has taught me, learning to laugh has been the most valuable.

So, in short, thank you Highsted for teaching me to laugh and for letting me share that laughter with you, I've had the best eight years of my life.