‘Trust yourself. Be a good friend’: Bono’s ‘six thoughts for sixth class’

U2 singer advises on friendship, kindness and laughter in video for graduating pupils

U2 frontman Bono has recorded a message for sixth class students on their last day of primary school, advising pupils to avoid negative people. Video: RTÉ

Bono has shared his “six thoughts for sixth class” as they prepare to finish their school year.

In a short video for RTÉ’s Home School Hub, the U2 singer advises the primary-school leavers on friendship, activism, kindness, laughter and love.

The video was broadcast in the final episode of Home School Hub, which aired on Friday morning on RTÉ2. The programme has been running daily on RTÉ since early April, providing lessons and learning for primary-school children from first to sixth class during the Covid-19 school closures.

Bono’s six thoughts are:

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  • "Trust yourself, trust your own instincts. You will know when something, an act or word, is wrong. And you will also know when you are right."
  • "Being a friend is hard. Being a good friend. It's not a chore, but it is something that you have to work on. It might be difficult to imagine now, but you may not have met some of your best friends. Yet."
  • "When I was leaving primary school I knew I wanted to be a singer, but I hadn't the courage to tell anyone. There will always be people who tell you you're not smart enough, strong enough, talented enough, that you can't do that thing that you so deeply want to. Avoid them. Because there are going to be people who tell you, 'You can be anything you want to be, everything you want to be,' and I'd listen to them. I mean the ones who ignore you, they can have some positives, but let's avoid them for the moment."
  • "Kindness. Yes. Be kind. Accept one another. Stand up for others. Celebrate those who might be different, seem different. Not just celebrate them: listen to them, learn from them. Fight for causes that you believe in. Your planet, your country, your community. They all need us as activists you know. And it's okay to be angry at injustice, but perhaps start with an act of kindness. That's sometimes even more challenging."
  • "It goes without saying, you know more than your parents. But they love you more than you will ever know."
  • "The sound of laughing with someone is so very different than the sound of laughing at someone."

“That’s my six thoughts for sixth class. Congratulations. Over and out from Bono.”

The full video is available on RTÉ Player.

Conor Goodman

Conor Goodman

Conor Goodman is the Deputy Editor of The Irish Times