Take 5: 17 April 2017 by Mr Lim Wei Yi

Do not go gentle into that good night

By Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Good morning Madam Tan, Mr Lee, Mr Chung, teachers and Gessians,

For today morning’s Take 5, I chose to start with a poem written by Dylan Thomas possibly for his dying father, telling him to continue fighting and not give up. This echoes one of our school values – Resilience. Resilience is that ineffable quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes.

So how can we foster resilience? In essence, we need to have a positive attitude – which includes optimism, the ability to regulate emotions, and the capacity to see failure as a form of helpful feedback. A positive attitude can be developed in a few ways, one of which is to reframe your challenges. In life, there are no dead ends, only re-directions. Although we might try, there are very few things in life that we have complete control over. We should not let uncontrollable occurrences from the outside turn our inner to mush. What we can control is the effort that we put in and when we give our full effort, there is no reason for regret. Have fun with challenges, embrace them as adventures instead of attempting to resist an experience for growth.

GESSians, next Friday is the start of the Mid-Year Examinations for the Secondary 1 to 3s and the first Preliminary Examination for the Secondary 4 and 5s. It will be a tough month as we prepare and sit for the examinations, but with resilience, it will be doable! So I bid you, do not go gentle into that good night, and rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Thank you.