The Last Word

By James Veituna | Posted: Thursday May 23, 2024

Hello boys, for those who don’t know me my name is James Hudson Taylor Veituna.

Now as I stand here before you today, I know that some people may be thinking “Who the heck is this coconut? What could I possibly learn from him?”. However let me tell you that the coconut is a very versatile fruit when used correctly. If planted, it's trees can be used to produce clothing, bedding, flooring and shelter. You see boys, the same can be said with people.

In life there will be many times where we will fall short of our goals. However, failure is only natural. We are only human. We are not perfect. Many may look and mock us for these shortcomings. That is because throughout this life there will be weeds. Weeds that will try to grab and choke us on the path of success, but let us not give our attention to them. Remember boys, nothing good comes from interacting with weeds. Instead as 'Men of Oak', let us reflect and ask ourselves, “What have I done wrong? How can I improve?”. This is how we learn from our past mistakes and use them as fuel to forge a new path ahead.

Now, many claim that we are all built of the same equipment as suggested by last year's poem ‘Equipment’ by Edgar A. Guest. However this is simply not true. The truth is that some of us may be as bulky as Javara and I, while others may be as scrawny as Luke. We are all different and that is a fact. Some of us are coconuts, others apples and some bananas, donuts, nuts and so forth. Therefore boys, it is not wise to try and compare ourselves to others constantly. As 'Men of Oak' we must instead compete against the man in the mirror and continuously try our hardest to improve ourselves no matter how minor our progression is. At least if you fail while trying your hardest you will know that you did all that you could possibly do. As I said before, it is through our failures that we improve our capabilities. This is what it means to go from good to great.

Although we may be different, we still share the same roots. We are all different, yet we are linked through the Brotherhood of OBHS as 'Men of Oak'. It is important to remember that as individuals we have been blessed with unique skills, whether they be on the sports field, in academics, cooking, dancing or even being a complete and utter joker with your mates. If used correctly, these talents can help us brighten the world. 

In true OBHS fashion, I will end with a quote from Geoffrey Chaucer. “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.”