Molly Kearney - NQ- Blah Finalists- High School Grade 9/10. 26th Aug- James Cook Uni. #publictalk

chairperson ladies and gentlemen when I was 2 years old I learned that my actions have consequences when I was 3 years old I became terrified of these consequences and all the way up until I was 12 years old I had a clean record because of these consequences but being clean does not mean that I was free locked in chained always to societal standards always being pushed higher further though my life was clean I was never free we are never free ladies and Gentlemen even having the opportunity to stand before you tonight is not free something that may change my future forever is not free learning a skill that may help me for the rest of my career is not free this is why I'm here today because ladies and gentlemen the best things in life are not free whether finan financially mentally physically or even sometimes intellectually we are always faced with the consequences of the things we do tonight I will analyze this if you abide by the rules then you're boring if you disobey the rules then you're a disappointment if you do what society says is good then you get told to do what you want to do but even if you do that you're not good enough if you stay quiet you get told to speak out but if you speak out then you're loud you're a threat the point of getting to is that everything in life has consequences any Wonder us as teenagers are confused because Society has crafted these perfect unachievable standards of people and even if we satisfy these standards there's always more that they want no matter what we do no matter how hard we try we will never get what we want we spend our whole lives trying to jigsaw ourselves into this mess of a person but on the way we lose ourselves we forget to really enjoy enjoy what really matters we forget to spend life with the people who we love and do the things that we enjoy because we waste our life away trying to please Society but Society will never be satisfied everything in life has consequences nothing is ever free the best things in life are never free ladies and gentlemen I find as a teenager that these standards are so confusing every day I get told to just live in the moment do what makes you happy you're so young why are you stressing for example even last Friday I saw the Barbie movie with my mom and for anyone in the in the audience who is interested in watching it please go it was amazing and I do have to admit I did cry a little but even then my mom was like why are you upset you're 14 you don't know anything the people don't get it because then I went home to my grandparents and I was told that I must St thinking about my career career you know my future because everything I do will always contribute to it every step I take every move I make every action I Do It All Leads to my future you know I get told to not stress not think about it too much but then in grade 10 I get sent off on work experience and you know the best part we spend our whole life pushing and pushing and pushing we spend our whole lives working towards something more never enjoying what we have but in truth we only really end up one way and can you guess it dead the best things in life are never free and if I feel this way at what 14 years old this is how Society has shaped me I can't even begin to imagine what the rest of you were feeling I'm confused so ladies and gentlemen are the consequences we face really worth the end goal is it really worth the risk why do we say that the best things in life are free when we always pay for the things that we do whether intellectually mentally physically we are always faced with consequences so ladies and gentlemen ask yourself are the best things in life really free