Friendship and Life

A wise man once said: “ The greatest journeys in life begin with the smallest steps.” My journey of a lifetime began with a small step through the gates of The Settlers High School and today it is that very step which proved to be my greatest and wisest, as it led me through the doors of an extra-ordinary school in which my great journey of self-discovery and self-development began.
Greetings. Today I am faced with the hard task of delivering the most difficult speech I ever had to make, but what makes if difficult is not the fact that I have to say farewell to that and those which and who became my home and family for five years, but because I have to express, what to me, is inexpressible – the love, the pride, the gratitude and appreciation that I feel towards my school and the people who moulded me into who I am today.
All my life it has always been my dream to leave something of myself behind. Wherever I went and whoever I met. I wanted people to remember me. I wanted to walk in a room and people would know that I have entered and when I left. I wanted my footprints to remain in the lives of those whose path I have crossed. And people, when speaking of me, would say, “Kristin, yes, how could I forget her? She is the one who touched my life.” I wanted my life to say, “ I was here and in this time, I lived, loved and left a legacy.” People say that one lives as long as your are remembered so my dream to be remembered was deeply rooted in my desire to live forever. My desire to make a significant change in the lives of others, that would live on long after I was gone. It was a desire, which drove me to my purpose: To do more for other then they can do for me. And it is with this purpose that my years at Settlers began.
Throughout my five years here, I have come across many people who have left their mark in my life. Whose kind words, encouraging pat on the back and friendship are forever imprinted in the chambers of my heart. People often say