At Cornelia Connelly Center, Birthday Baby Speeches are a huge tradition. Eighth graders celebrate their birthdays by sharing words of wisdom about their time at Connelly Middle School with the entire school community. It is an opportunity to reflect, show gratitude, and celebrate the growth of each student. In the month of January, we celebrated a total of four 8th grade birthdays. Below read some excerpts from their Birthday Baby Speeches:
Noelly, CMS ‘20
A message I would like to share with the world is a quote by Grayson Dolan, “Always be yourself no matter what’s happening. Don’t lose sight of who you truly are.” Through tough situations, it is really easy to lose your true self, but although it can be hard, challenge yourself to be yourself through those times. My last message is yet another quote, I don’t know who originally said it, but Ethan Dolan said this in one of his videos and I really like it: “Life is not about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself.” Most people say how you need to find yourself to be yourself, but you can create who you are and how you want the world to see you. Never let anyone get in the way of your journey.
Jayna, CMS ‘20
A piece of advice that I wish I could have told my younger self and I would like to share with all of you is to not focus on the past. When I was younger, I had a tendency to focus on the mistakes I had made and unable to move past that moment. That caused me to miss out on good opportunities and a lot of fun. I now know that fixating on the past does not benefit anyone. [Assistant Head of School] Ms. Sachs has said to me (and she has probably said to you) many times that mistakes happen and it is not about the mistake but how we move on from it that defines the type of person you are. Recently, I saw the movie Breakthrough with my class. A quote from the movie that really stuck with me is “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” Keeping these words in mind will help me to remember to leave the past behind me and keep my attention focused on making my future the best it can be.
Gianni, CMS ‘20
When I was younger, I would not ask questions because I thought it made me seem dumb. I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self to not be afraid to ask for help. I had a hard time learning things when I was younger because I didn’t ask for help. I used to have a lot of trouble with math but now it is my favorite subject. I ask for help when I need it. Thank you Ms. Banks and Ms. Ramage for helping me realize that math is fun.
Elsie, CMS ‘20
One message I would like to share with the world is no matter how bad your day is going, remember to always do one thing (even if it is small) to make you happy. It is important to remember that we are in control of our own lives and we can make choices to make things better.