La Rochelle Yearbook 2023

Boodskap van die onder-hoofmeisie

I had even considered … up until then. ‘Uhm, sure, Ma’am, ’ I replied and as I walked out of that hall, I remember thinking, ‘Aai, Jess, what did you just do?’ I remember watching the entire show with my mother at home one evening. I sat cringing throughout my performance when I heard her sniffing. My first thought was to try and find where the onions were, but looking into her eyes, all I saw was pride. To this day I do not know why, as some of the notes I sang were definitely quite pitchy, and I did not sing with vibrato or resonance at all. But, I digress. She told me she was proud of me for being brave. And that was the moment which redefined the meaning of that word for me. All of us are brave every single day, without even being consciously aware of it, or commending that bravery. We regard bravery as something high, mighty, a characteristic of a warrior or soldier. But, sometimes bravery is as simple as approaching something unpleasant, uncomfortable, foreign or scary and still deciding to go through with it. It is being afraid and uncertain, and still doing it anyway. And when viewed in that light, when we change our perspective, we are suddenly aware of just how resilient and courageous we are, even in times when we struggle deeply to find those qualities within ourselves. Grade 11 dawned just as quickly, with even more seniority and even more students who looked up to you. You are preparing for matric while still enjoying and savouring the fact that you do not have as much responsibility yet. (Pro tip: Everything you learn in Grade 11 is ‘important for next year’ , so be sure to keep those books and assume the content will feature in most of your matric papers as well.) It was a good year. Our first year with Mrs Conradie as our principal, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we instantly approved of our family’s newest member. I shall never forget when Mrs Conradie said my name for the first time. It honestly felt like a superfan-meets celebrity moment. We needed to carry some books from the Learning Centre to our different register classes, and I happened to be walking through at just the right moment: ‘Jess, will you be able to take these please?’ Just that simple act of making an effort to address me by my name, told me a copious amount of Mrs Conradie’s character. From your innovative ideas, to the calm and level-headed approach with which you handle situations, Ma’am, I can truly say that you serve as an inspiration to all of us, and an example of the type of women we should strive to become. Not to mention, it is a different kind of ‘street cred’ when your principal calls you by your nickname; one of the ‘coolest’ feelings ever to experience by far! Blom, Jani, Catherine, Jodes – my laat-studie crew ! I will never forget the many nights we spent together after 22:00 during the week trying to get ahead with our studies and catching up on our homework. I dreaded going to the first one. It is lights out at the hostel. All your friends are tucked into bed and already having

that show, the memories made, the stories told – all of it – was magical. One of the biggest reasons behind surviving Grade 8 was someone whom I did not think I would have grown so close to in these last five years – my Sotsussie . Bianca, you were always there when the load became too overwhelming, that one girl I knew in Grade 8 before I made any friends, to being someone whom I now hold very dear to my heart. There would be breaks where we would sit together, not saying more than a few words, but we always knew that the other understood exactly how we were feeling. Thank you for being such an inspiration, and for being there whenever I needed you. Keep writing, exploring your interests and expanding that intelligent mind of yours – and sharing your contagious smile with the world. You really mean so much to me! Grade 9 swooped in, and by then we sort of knew the ropes. That was my first year at the hostel and the country’s first year of lockdown in the grip of the Covid Pandemic. What a one-up in milestones! Daisies, you were in Grade 5 only! Most of the year was spent at home, and it was our first ever experience of online tuition and Google Classroom. Eventually, when we returned to school, our faces were covered by masks, which in itself, was something to which to adapt. It was a year full of loss, chaos and confusion, but also a step forward in the school becoming more technologically advanced. The toilet paper thing was not so cool though! All of us experienced that time differently. Some learners had no access to the internet or online teaching platforms; others had access, but considered lockdown as a vacation. I must admit, the one week at school and one week at home definitely helped ease us back into the routine of school after being home for so long, but also made us expect a holiday every second week! That was also the year in which we lost two of our Larrie family, which put many things into perspective – such as how unpredictable life can be at times, and how time here is never promised. I was encouraged to be more grateful for the people in my life and express my love and appreciation more regularly. I hope those two beautiful souls are ‘resting easy up above’. Grade 10 was a sweet spot for most. There were, amongst others, fewer subjects, more seniority, not as much responsibility yet, and the teachers started being a tiny bit more lenient. It was post-Covid, not entirely ‘copacetic’ just yet, but the year was calm. It was the year of the Talent Show. I had entered with a friend and we were planning on doing a duet. Shortly before the show, however, she relocated to Durban. Murphy’s law, right? One morning I walked through the social distancing maze-like set-up in the hall we had implemented for register after Covid. At the one station, where Mrs Pedro marked me present, I told her about the change in plans regarding the show. She smiled at me and simply said, ’no problem at all. Will you be singing alone then?’ I just looked at her for a few seconds. Doing it on my own was never something

21 LAR

La Rochelle Hoër Meisieskool | Girls’ High School Paarl