Patrick Fitzgeraldof Mercy Mounthawk school, in Tralee, explains why the past is sometimes our best guide to the future.
Who are you? That is the most common question that I have asked myself and others in transition year.
When I hear this question I take three perspectives on it. The first is: how do we know who we are if do not know who we were? History is one of the great passions in my life. When I say this to others, usually the response is: "I can't stand history - all those facts and figures."
But that is a narrow-minded view of history. History has contributed to who you are today. Our immensely rich culture has been handed down over thousands of years. One example is our creativity with words. Ireland has an array of talented writers, from Kavanagh, Joyce and Beckett to modern writers such as Maeve Binchy, Roddy Doyle and John Banville. If you look a bit closer, you'll find that creativity has always been there. Wasn't there a file in every tribe in Celtic times?
There has, in fact, been a renaissance in Irish culture in recent times. The GAA has done terrific work by reviving hurling and Gaelic football, and TG4 has boosted the use of Irish. Initiatives such as these must be supported, as we must preserve our identity in an increasingly globalised world. It makes us who we are as a people. If we do not have our own identity, then who are we? Will we blend in and become the same as everyone else on the planet, and talk, write, paint, play and live the same as others?
The second perspective I take is personality. They say TY is the year that you find out who you are. I disagree. TY makes you the person who you are. I keep hearing: "You'll get out what you put in." It's true. If you work, you will achieve. If you do not work, you will achieve nothing. I'm glad to say the people in my year are the most determined people I have ever seen. They put their heart and soul into everything they do. Their determination to change the world has led them to set up groups on issues such as mental health, fair trade, the environment and human rights.
We are the generation for the future, and this brings me to my third point. If these students bring that determination from TY into who they will be down the line, Ireland had better watch out. This will become the most dynamic country of all to live in in the future.
You may not be a TY student. But ask yourself, who are you? Look closer, because if you are not the person you want to be, you are the only person who can change it.
As for me, I am a TY student who is determined to see the year through with no regrets and be able to say, at the end of May, that I tried my hardest.
