‘Life is about the journey, not the destination,’ says Year 8 Public Speaking extraordinaire, Victoria Guan. Victoria was named in the Top Five Best Speakers at the recent DAV Junior Public Speaking Competition for her speech, which she shared with our School community in Senior School Assembly this week and provided below.

Have you been on a rollercoaster before? Whether it was as a kid or as an adult, I’m sure that you all have! 

If you have, what do you remember from that ride? Do you remember the laughs of your friends, the twists, the turns, or maybe even your screams of anticipation? But as the ride came to a halt, the only thing that really mattered was the enthralling experience along the way.  

Now, that experience goes completely against the quote, “it’s not the journey, but the destination.”  

This quote suggests that the end destination or ultimate goal is all that truly matters. Yet this quote overshadows the significance of the process or journey itself. This quote is limited, if not outright problematic. So, I stand here today to argue that it is in fact all about the journey and not about the destination. 

The journey is more meaningful than the outcome. The journey can be considered as the process of striving, learning, and discovering who we are and what we’re truly capable of.  

Sport is not my cup of tea… and long-distance running is my worst enemy! Recently I had the choice to opt out of the three-kilometre Cross Country race, to tell my Mum to call me in sick, but I realised this was an opportunity for me to push myself out of my comfort zone and give it a shot.  

Sure, I was still one of the last people to reach the finish line, but what mattered to me was the journey that I embarked on to reach the finish line.  

Through many small experiences such as these I have been able to build resilience. These journeys all encompassed moments of personal growth for me.  

That example was one about me, but what about all of us as human beings? From cradle to grave, we all know where our destination is, however, this process is the life journey itself.  

As the years pass, we have many moments of ups and downs, laughs, and tears, and much more. Our life journey is more important than anything else, it is what makes every second meaningful. It is what we should genuinely focus on. 

For some, the destination is the only thing that matters. It is used as the only criteria for success. I would argue that those people have simply fallen into a rabbit hole. Their perspective is intrinsically myopic, as they only see what they want to see.  

With such tunnel vision, people can make bad decisions. Is a student’s success only judged by the marks they score? If people only focus on grades, what would happen? A result of the pressure to be ‘good’ could see students choosing to cheat in order to get good marks and be deemed successful.  

If we are destination-oriented, we are blind sighted by the true beauty of the journey. I’ll never be an elite athlete, and someone else may never be an A-grade student. When students embark on a journey of learning and being a better version of themselves every day, don’t you think they are successful even though they may never get to an A?  

True success should be assessed by grit, dedication, and the perseverance that students exhibit along their learning journey, instead of only the marks they score. 

Ultimately, each and every one of us may have different takes on this quote. However, I truly believe that the journey is what matters most.  

From burning the midnight oil in writing my first draft to speaking in front of you all, preparing myself for this [Public Speaking] Competition has truly been a journey to cherish.  

So, don’t you want to appreciate the small things in life too?  

Don’t you like to learn and grow?  

Don’t you want to make long-lasting memories?  

Then enjoy the ride of the journey until the destination. Try to find the hidden beauty in every moment of your life.  

Thank you for listening.