I never thought I would be in a position like that — on top of the school, feeling confident and proud and looking down at Mr. Felix! In fact, five short years ago things were quite different. I was young, shy, and scared — I was a Grade 8 at the bottom of the school looking up. I remember orientation week very well and in particular the part of it where we were picking out our uniforms. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted the black golf shirt or the white golf shirt. At the time it was a pretty stressful decision. A veteran Grade 12 noticed my predicament and commented, “I’d buy both.” When I asked him “Why,” he decided to teach me a few lessons about Brentwood. “First,” he said, “it’s because you’re not actually paying for them, and second, you’re going to be wearing them everyday for the next five years.”

Ursula Leguin once said, "It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end." Grade 8 was the beginning, and now is the end, and everything in between has certainly been a journey. Sometimes it has been smooth and easy-going, like having drama and P.E. as academic classes in Grade 8. Sometimes it has been winding and uphill, like having Math and Calculus as academic classes in Grade 12. Sometimes it’s has been weird, like when we were attacked by the Alex house girls with baby lotion and shampoo. Sometimes it’s just been interesting, like watching Mr. Burrows dance on stage in a tutu. And sometimes, it has just been bizarre, like when we found out that Mikey Mains and Chris Turyk were raising chickens in their shoe rack. But in the end, it’s been a journey that I will never forget, and I am glad that all of you have been here to share it with me.

As parents, you probably wonder why you sent your kids away to live on their own at Brentwood. At least I hope that you did! Anyway, I think I found the answer to that in the words of Mr. Pennells, “Failure at Brentwood is not an option.” He didn’t mean we are all perfect, because we’re not. He didn’t mean that we never come up short, because we do. He meant that people look out for each other around here. Whether it is friends helping out friends, or teachers helping out students, or even students helping out teachers, Brentwood is the kind of environment that people, old and young alike, are pushed to do their best. At Brentwood, the teachers become more than just educators, they become your friends and your family. For the parents, it must have been an awkward feeling when you first abandoned your children in the sole custody of a surrogate housemaster. For your comfort, parents, I have made a list of a few things that I swear I have never heard my housemaster, Mr. Snow, say. First, “Don’t worry about it Steve, the curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It's not like I'm running a prison around here.” Second, “You know Steve, I like your hair when it is long and shaggy”. And lastly, “Poker… $5 buy in eh… can I play?”

As students, I know we often wonder why we agreed to come to a place like Brentwood — a place where the Friday night social event is called “cookie break”. A place where six hours of academic classes a day, two hours of fine arts and/or sports, and two hours of prep are mandatory. If being a Brentwood Student was a job paying $10 an hour, I figure we would make just under $30,000 a year. Instead, that’s about how much it costs for our parents to send us here. For me though, Brentwood has been worth every dollar. Sure, I have learned a lot about academics and sports, but more importantly I have learned a lot about life. I have learnt how to play poker and how to wrestle. I’ve learnt how to tuck my hair behind my ears to make it appear shorter and “groomed.” I’ve learnt how to be a roommate, a big brother and a friend. Students, every once and a while remember to step back from the rush of Brentwood life and think about how fortunate we all are. I know I probably do not say this often enough, but Mom and Dad, thank you for all the opportunities and support you have given me.

Before I step down, I want share with the Grade 11's a story that a Grade 12 shared with me last year.

There were two peasants traveling down a winding road on their way to see the king. When they approached the gates of the kingdom an army of foot soldiers bullied them off. The one peasant said to the other peasant, “That is why.” The next day, the two peasants traveled down the winding road again in hopes to see the king. This time, when they reached the Kingdom, an army of horse soldiers rode up and threw stones at them until they ran off. The one peasant said to his friend, “That is why”. The peasants refused to give up though, and traveled down the winding road a third time. This time the Kings carriage pulled up, and when the King saw the two peasants standing there in torn clothes, with cuts and bruises all over, he got out of his carriage, put his arm around them, and gave them each a gold coin. As they walked back down the winding road to their huts, the one peasant said to the other, “That is why.” Later on, the peasant asked his friend what he meant by, “That is why.” The first responded, “that is why they are foot soldiers, and that is all they will ever be. That is why they are horse soldiers, and that is all they will ever be AND that is why he is King.”

Grade 11's: remember to never look down on those who look up to you. Soon, you all will become the Kings of the school and whether you have realised it or not, the juniors (the peasants) are already following and admiring you.

Fellow grads, after today we will no longer be Brentwood students; instead, we will become part of its legacy. I believe that is something that we can be proud of. We will no longer be looking up or down, but rather forward to our futures. Thank you Brentwood, for guiding me as I have grown up, Thank you friends, for sticking with me during the rough times, for sharing with me the good times, and for making me who I am today. For me the words of William Butler Yeats have never been truer, “Think where a man’s glory most begins and ends…and say my glory was that I had such friends.”