“走出舒适区，尝试你以前害怕做的事情”

G11 Jason Xiao

首先要感谢校长和老师们。正是你们的信任和支持，让我在过去的一年里取得了如此大的进步，有机会在这个舞台上发言。感谢BCC社团的成员和老师们，这几个月和大家相处的过程，让我在时间管理和自我能力认知上得到了真正的启迪。

当我听说我要在仪式上发表演讲时，内心惭愧和恐惧多于荣誉。面对身边这么多优秀的同学，我不禁问自己：“我是否足够好，可以站在这个位置上说这些话？” 回顾过去，我相信答案早已写在我的生命里。“生活没有对错之分。” 每个人都可以坚持做真正的自己，是否“优秀”可以由自己定义。我可能不是我们年级最优秀的学生，也没有什么独特的能力。但在我看来，我已经成为一个比去年更好的人，这给了我今天站在这里的勇气。

我今天特别想分享的第一个想法是，走出舒适区，尝试你以前害怕做的事情，并发现你的极限在哪里。竞赛和活动层出不穷，我强烈建议大家参与其中并发现自己真正感兴趣的东西。我九年级最不喜欢的科目是经济学，那时我会害怕看到教科书上的各种图表，然后选择避开。

然而，一次偶然的机会，我卷入了一场商业竞赛。主题是“碳中和政策是否是可持续发展”。听到这个话题我感到特别无奈，因为九年级的时候我对政策、生态环境没有兴趣。处于团体赛的责任感，我“被迫”学习了一些相关领域的知识。在探索这些知识的过程中，我不仅了解了很多国家的环境政策，还发现了我对经济学的兴趣。并不是我不喜欢经济学，而是我根本没有花时间去理解那些书中经济问题背后的逻辑。然而，当我创建自己的 PowerPoint 演示文稿时，解释理论和使用数据作为证据的经验让我对经济学有了新的认识。我终于能够解读这些经济问题的真正含义，并发表我对这个话题的独特观点。

再者，我认为我们应该尝试扩大自己的社交圈。世界上有那么多优秀的人，我们可以向他们学习。中国有句俗话叫“取长补短”，通过与不同的人交朋友，你可以获得丰富的信息，这些信息可以在你遇到问题时为你提供更多的解决方案。

第三，对于那些正在学习IGCSE的人，我强烈建议你们可以阅读A-Level/AS教材并提前参加考试。提早学习不仅可以减轻压力，还可以让你有更多机会重考，允许反复试验。

First of all, I would like to thank the principals and teachers. It is your trust and support that have enabled me to make so much progress in the past year and have the opportunity to speak on this stage. At the same time, I would like to thank the members and teachers of the BCC club. The process of getting in touch with you in the past few months has truly enlightened me in time management and self-ability cognition.

When I heard that I was going to give a speech at the ceremony, I felt more guilt and fear than honor. I am ashamed that I did not do my best in the past year. To tell the truth, I used to spend one or two hours reading "Red" (小红书) every day, which is not what a role model should do. Additionally, there are so many excellent students around me. Today's speech made me deeply reflect. I asked myself, "Am I good enough to be in this position to say these things?" Looking back, I believe the answer has already been written in my life. "There is no right or wrong life." Everyone can insist on being their true selves, and my excellence is my own definition. I may not be the most outstanding student in our grade, nor do I have any unique abilities. But in my own mind, I have become a better person than I was last year, and that gives me the courage to stand here today.

One of the things I particularly want to share today is stepping out of your comfort zone and doing something you were afraid to do before, and discovering where your limits are. In today's society, there are numerous competitions and activities. I highly recommend that you get involved and discover what truly interests you while you're young. In fact, the subject I disliked the most in grade 9 was economics. At the time, I would look at all sorts of charts and diagrams in the textbook and choose to avoid it.

However, by chance, I became involved in a business contest. The topic was about "whether a carbon-neutral policy is sustainable development." Upon hearing this topic, I felt particularly helpless because, in grade 9, I had no interest in national policies or the ecological environment. 

Since it was a team competition, my sense of responsibility drove me to learn some knowledge in related fields. In the process of exploring this knowledge, I not only learned about many national environmental policies but also discovered my passion for economics. 

It wasn't that I disliked economics; I simply hadn't taken the time to understand the logic behind the economic issues in those books. However, when I created my own PowerPoint presentation, the experience of explaining theories and using data as evidence gave me a new understanding of economics. I was able to interpret the true meaning of these economic issues skillfully and express my unique perspectives on the topic. So, sometimes reading a textbook is not a reliable indicator of whether you are interested in a field or not. In such cases, engaging in activities can be an effective way to determine if you are a good fit for the field.

Furthermore, I believe you should try to expand your social circle, both on and off campus. There are so many wonderful people in the world, and we can learn from them. There is a saying in China, "取长补短" (learn from each other), and you can humbly ask others if you have any questions. I am more than willing to discuss any subject-related questions with you. Additionally, another challenge is a lack of information. By befriending different people, you can gain a wealth of information that can provide you with more solutions when you face problems.

By the way, for those of you who are in IGCSE, I highly recommend you can read A-Level/AS textbooks and taking the exam ahead of time. Studying early not only reduces stress but also gives you more opportunities to retake exams, allowing for trial and error.

Finally, I would like to thank the school and teachers once again for their trust. I will persevere and gain admission to my dream school through my efforts. I am also excited to see my fellow SIFCers shine on this stage next year through their own endeavors!

“每次都更努力一点，会发现宝藏在等着你”

G11 Julian Zhang

这个奖学金奖项不仅是对我的鼓励，也为我提供机会，向一直以来给予我帮助和陪伴的你们表达感激之情。

还记得刚来SIFC的时候，我很害羞，缺乏自信，尽量避免在公众面前表现自己。然而，通过一次经历，我意识到我周围的人都是善良、富有同情心并支持我的，这促使我从过去的我发展成为现在的我。尽管这件事发生我来SIFC的第一周，但我仍然清楚地记得我对舞台和观众的巨大恐惧。如果当时我没有勇敢地站上那个舞台，我现在呈现给你的形象可能会有所不同。

那时，颤抖的心是我必须面对的最大挑战。为了背歌词，我在一张纸上写了两遍，随身携带，一有时间就背诵。然而，当聚光灯照在我的脸上时，我的大脑一片空白。当音乐开始播放时，我别无选择，只能唱出我能想起的一切。然后，情况出现了意想不到的转折，因为每个人的脸上都洋溢着喜悦和活力，鼓励我一直唱到了最后。那一幕深深地印在了我的脑海里，我还记得观众们起立为我鼓掌的情景，极大地增强了我对自己的信心和我对音乐的热情。之后，我被邀请加入音乐剧社团，标志着我最美好时光的开始，一直持续到现在，直至我离开SIFC的那一天。

我并不是要告诉你我的日常生活是怎样的，我想谈的是热情。我们都听说过热情对个人发展的重要性。它帮助我们学习，打破我们的极限，并告诉我们不要放弃。然而，找到热情对我们大多数人来说是一个严峻的挑战，因为我们很难想象我们的未来和我们真正想要的东西。结果，我们发现自己陷入了“我不知道，我不在乎，我不想”的循环中。找到热情的最好方法就是尝试，我们之所以经常找不到它，是因为我们总是躲在幕后，抱怨我们做不到。而只有当你亲身经历过一些事情时，你才能做出决定而不依赖别人的意见。

如果不尝试，我永远不会真正理解当音乐《汉密尔顿》的演员们最后鞠躬时成功的感觉，或者当我们完成完整的音乐表演时我的成就感。我从来没有预料到一个小小的决定会对我的生活产生如此深远的影响。发现我们的热爱是一个终生的过程。因此，每当我们在社交媒体上看到别人的成功和快乐时，让我们花点时间反思一下：是否有我们想要的东西，我们力所能及的东西？有了探索精神和坚持，寻找热爱就变得不那么麻烦了。

所以，去吧！不要躲在人生的后台，每次都让自己更努力一点，你会发现宝藏在等着你。最后，再次感谢大家，我真诚地感谢你们出现在我的生命中。

I would like to express my gratitude to all the teachers and students who have consistently supported me. This scholarship not only serves as an encouragement for me but also symbolizes the appreciation for all the assistance and companionship I have received from each one of you over the past two years.

I still remember when I first came to SIFC, I was shy and lacked confidence, so I tried to avoid showing myself in front of the public. However, through one experience, I realized that the people surrounding me are kind, compassionate, and supportive. This motivated me to evolve from who I was in the past to who I am now. Even though this event occurred during my first week, I can still vividly remember the immense fear I felt towards the stage and the audience. The figure I present to you now could have been different if I hadn't been brave enough to stand on that stage. The talent show was remarkable in every way, but the trembling and racing heart were the biggest challenges I had to face. To memorize the lyrics of my song, I wrote them down twice on a piece of paper and carried it with me, reciting it whenever I had a moment. Unfortunately, when the spotlight hit my face, my mind went blank, and the audience in front of me seemed like a looming shadow. I had no choice but to sing everything I could recall as the music started to play. Then, the situation took an unexpectedly incredible turn - words cannot capture the transformation that occurred, as every face was filled with joy and energy, propelling me to sing until the very end. That scene is deeply etched in my mind, and I still remember how the audience stood up and applauded for me. It gave me a tremendous boost in confidence in myself and my passion for music, which I have pursued for the past two years. After that, I was asked to join the Musical club on the second day of the club fair, marking the beginning of my greatest time, which continues until now and until the day I leave.

I don't mean to tell you what is my everyday life, but this short story holds meaning. What I want to talk about is passion. We have all heard about how passion is significant for personal development. It helps us learn, break our limits, and tells us not to give up. However, finding passion is a serious challenge for most of us, as we struggle to imagine our future and the things we truly want. Consequently, we find ourselves trapped in a cycle of "I don't know, I don't care, and I don't want." 

I am not presenting any theory or textbook excerpts; the best way to find passion is to try. The reason we often fail to find it is because we always hide in the background, murmuring that we can't do it and that we should give up. No, only when you experience something firsthand can you make a decision without relying on others' opinions. I will never truly understand the feeling of success when the cast of “Hamilton” took their final bow, or how accomplished I felt when we completed a full musical performance. I could have never anticipated that a small decision could have such a profound impact on my life. However, it is rare to instantly fall in love with something upon initial exposure. Discovering our passions is a lifelong process. Therefore, whenever we see other people's success and happiness on social media, let's take a moment to reflect: Is there something we desire, something within our capabilities? With a spirit of exploration and perseverance, finding passion becomes less troublesome. So, just go for it. Don't hide in the background. Push yourself a little harder each time, and you'll find a treasure waiting for you. Finally, thank you once again. I sincerely appreciate having all of you in my life.