The Value of Introspection
Senior Under Officer in the Shore Cadet Unit, Annabelle, shares that it’s not just the start or the end of an experience that matters but the transformative journey that lies between.
Each week, our student leaders share their insights with their peers in Assembly.
Humans celebrate the beginning and end of all occasions. We throw New Year’s Eve parties and commemorate engagements, birthdays, and graduations. We ritualise the beginning of each day with a morning routine, and we treat ourselves to takeaway on a Friday night. Humans are great at starting and great at knowing when we’ve finished. But we never hear about the middle, the in-between stage. We easily get lost in the process until we feel a sense of achievement or pride once we have accomplished something that we deem worthwhile. We don’t know what to do when things are mundane. Our society and culture just don’t recognise it. We’re not good at reflecting on progress.
I recently learned, however, that lobsters are great at this! Once every year or so, a lobster will shed its old shell while simultaneously growing a new one. During this process, it will go into hiding, understanding that it is entering a vulnerable, unprotected stage, as it acquires its new shell. This phase of concealment is crucial for its existence as well as being a moment of introspection.
We normally think of actions or opportunities as having a defined beginning and ending; however, instead, I believe our individual journeys should be viewed on a spectrum. I’ve come to realise that often we are uncomfortable with the growing and transition stages because we don’t allow ourselves to feel alone, bored, or uncomfortable. Even though it is great to strive for success, it is also important that we allow ourselves time and space for reflection and gratitude.
After my first year as a Cadet, I was promoted to Corporal, where I led a section of seven recruits. There were moments that year, as I was working towards being promoted to a senior rank, where I wasn’t sure if I was good enough; feared I wasn’t being seen or that I wasn’t making an impact. I was too caught up in the end goal to appreciate just how far I had come and how far I still wanted to go.
With support and guidance from the 91黑料不打烊 Cadets who had come before me, I was encouraged to find the confidence and determination within to pursue what I loved. Moments of self-reflection are difficult and are experienced differently by everyone. Now, I am the Senior Under Officer of the Shore Cadet Unit and I truly implore you all, regardless of your interests, to focus on the path you are on, that is, the middle, rather than putting too much weight on the result.
Embrace the middle, and like a lobster, appreciate the process. It is by acknowledging the importance of these quieter, in-between moments that we grow. This is the time when some of our most powerful ideas are formed, and transformations occur. So, whether you play a sport or an instrument, learn to dance or debate, work at a café or enjoy your academics, we will all face challenges. It is okay if you are not where you want to be. Just try each day to reflect on what you can do to bring yourself one step closer to becoming the person you aspire to be.