A message From Your Housemaster

A long time ago, in fact in the last century, a young boy packed his bags one Sunday afternoon to go on a journey.  Ahead of him was a life unknown.  As he arrived and made his way through the wrought-iron gates, sandstone buildings towered above, full of secrets and stories that whispered through its corridors, along silent tiled foyers and up marbled staircases and wooden bannisters.

For six years he was let out only occasionally.  For the first five years the only overnight leave he enjoyed was for his grandparents’ golden anniversary.  Sure, every three weeks or so he was permitted to leave the campus and visit his parents, but back he came as the sun went down to a world that was becoming more and more familiar to him.

Certainly, there were battles to be won: credibility, respect, finding your place.  The young man soon learnt from observation that it takes an age to build a reputation but a moment to lose it.  To start, best to keep your head down and grind.  There were also times when justice deserted him, when the authorities blamed him for crimes he didn’t commit, and when others he deemed less able were given a ride they didn’t deserve and hadn’t worked for.

He thought at first that this was a difficult life but it wasn’t long before he realised that amongst it all, he loved it.  He cherished every moment.  The friends he made then are his best friends still, over 35 years later.  Every time they catch up, they regale one another with stories of the good times.

Today, every now and then, he still sees young men who wear the uniform he once wore, who are experiencing what he once did too.  And even though his loyalties have shifted, he still gets a lump in his throat.  He realises that he is the man he is today because of the lessons he learnt then, because of the mentors who taught him what is right and wrong, of how he must live a life of virtue, dignity and respect.

That is boarding.  Tough times are more easily overcome when you are surrounded by strong friends, families and mentors.

The point is that life moves on.  Tough times do get better.  The only variable is time.  Challenges will always present themselves but inevitably they pass, and almost always we emerge as stronger people.

There is a poster hanging in Barry House that repeats the words of John Wayne, legendary Hollywood actor.  It says simply,

“Tomorrow is the most important thing in life.  Comes in to us at midnight very clean.  It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands.  It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.”