Today I want to talk about self-love and the most significant ways of showing it. It may sound strange to say this, but sometimes I love getting up early. If I’m getting up early, it usually means we’re going somewhere cool, heading up the mountain to snowboard, or watching soccer with dad and brother. Or, best of all, waking up for Mr. Doyle's morning HP class. One of my fondest memories was the 2019 Champions League final. Watching Liverpool end up winning that game. And I became more interested in the athletes and what led them to success.

 

After that game, I became particularly interested in two players: Salah and Firmino. They were so incredibly talented, but what really stuck with me was that their teammates would always talk about how hard they worked; how they were the first ones in the gym, they stayed late training, and they looked after their health. And it was because of the effort that they put in every day, which allowed them to go on and do great things in their careers.

 

When I was asked to speak in Chapel this week, on the topic of self-love, I realized I’d never really thought about what it actually meant. And I think, like so many things, it looks different depending on who you are. For some, self-love is the quietness; a place of solitude from the hustle and bustle of life. For others, it’s decadence. Treating yourself and learning to taste all the flavours of life.

 

For me, I think about Salah and other athletes. They were willing to work hard today so that tomorrow’s version of themselves would have it easier. And I actually think that’s what living at Shawnigan does for all of us. We put in the hard work: sign-ins and classes and prep and homework and inter-House and sport and fine art, and the list goes on. 

 

Furthermore, self-love means caring for yourself, taking things easy, but also setting our future selves up for success. A prime example of this in my life is my dad; he is someone who often urges me to do better, motivates me to do the hard things, and someone to tell me to get off my chair and get some work done. Because he knows the benefits of suffering a little bit today to make tomorrow easier. He knows that working hard is self-love; caring for yourself is self-love.

 

But why do we do it? Why embrace the grind the way we do? Because of self-love. Because we want tomorrow to be brighter than today. Because we want our future selves to be healthy, happy, rich, athletic, artsy, and kind. It’s about doing what we need to do now so that we can embrace the challenges of tomorrow better equipped.

 

Sometimes, to love yourself means to take a breath, to pause and rest so that you can face the challenges of another day. That is self-love too. 

 

So, to all of you out there who are feeling up against it and for whom the challenges seem too great, I challenge you to love yourself by persevering and overcoming. I know you can do it, and tomorrow you will love yourself for it.