My Speech 2021

 Kia Ora koutou katoa!

Hi, my name is Max and I am 10 years old.  Today I am going to tell you what one of the most important values to live by is, and why I chose this value.  A lot of people say that honesty is the best policy, however, I believe that patience is the best value to live by.

Patience is essential to daily life and no one can live without it.  Having patience to me means being able to wait calmly especially when you are frustrated - and we have many opportunities in life to practice it.  An example of this is a person's ability to wait for something like lining up and waiting for your turn on a ride.  Having patience means that you can remain calm, even when you have been waiting in line for what feels like forever.  Patience is not about the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude whilst waiting.  Having more patience can calm your mind and can make you feel more appreciative about yourself.

I googled the word patience and it is defined as being able to tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.  That is a skill that we learn as we get older.  Some of us are able to be patient and some of us struggle with this value. Patience is part of our personality.  Some people have it and some people don’t.  That strategy usually helps out a lot of people trying to become patient and calm. If you practise being calm a lot then over time you will start developing patience.

This value, patience, relates to our school value Kia Maia which means Stand Proud and be proud of who you are because Kia Maia can sometimes mean having a positive attitude and you certainly need a positive attitude to show patience. Another example is when you are not behaving at home - you may hear your parents say be patient, it’s not the end of the world! My mum and dad say that the sooner you learn the act of being patient, the easier and peaceful your life will become.  I know that at school we are taught to be patient and keep going to reach our goals.  This means that if we find a task like maths difficult we still keep trying until we understand - that is what patience looks like to me.

So as you have heard today, the meaning of patience can mean many things and is a big part of our daily lives.  I hope that you enjoyed learning about patience.  Thank you for listening to my speech. Ko te tumanako i pai koe ki te ako mo te manawanui, kia ora ai koe ki te whakarongo ki aku korero!