My 6th Grade Speech :) - 'Life and how to survive it'

Life is a reality. You don’t get whatever you want, whenever you want it. As the old quote goes, you CAN’T have your cake and eat it too.

So accept this. Don’t fight it. No-one is strong enough to. All you can do, all anyone can do, is survive. Believe that you will succeed.

Because the first rules of survival are never to give up. And to always carry a first aid kit.

Do what you love, if you want to survive. Early mornings are torture enough, but dragging yourself up and ready at 6 am in the morning to do something you hate? How could ANYONE survive that? Don’t work too hard in life. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They will tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful. Find that pursuit that will energize you, consume you. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm.

Be yourself. Changing your values, personality and looks to please others isn’t making things any less difficult than it already is. Get a good education. The basic rules: smart people will make it. People who don’t know anything won’t. Smile. Don’t obsess over the little worries in life.

Be friendly. Take time off. Don’t spend all your time working or studying – All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Find a happy place. When you get stressed or upset, don’t make it harder on yourself wallowing in misery. Unwind and relax by closing your eyes and being transported to your favourite place. This will naturally make you a calmer, happier person to be around.

Get up, go on. Don’t ever give up, because if you’re alive, there is always something more you can do. Don’t provoke people in charge. Be motivated by a drive to do good in life, because the good guy always wins – the good guy always survives.

Life wont always be a bucket of sunshine and rainbows. You will have off days.

My approach? Survive. When life sucks, don’t pretend that it doesn’t — And while you’re crawling towards the shiny neon light at the end of the dark smelly tunnel, LIVE a little, for heaven’s sake. Because it’s universally impossible for everything to suck. Somewhere, somehow, someone is grinning.

Stumble along life’s path laughing, not watching for holes and crying. Life is a game you don’t have to win. You just have to have fun, and make the best of it.

What you should prepare for is mess. Life’s a mess. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment.

Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live.

- A Girl In This World