This is a student reflection by Lucas (Year 12) who shared this piece at House Mass.
We are afflicted in every way but not crushed perplexed, but not driven to despair persecuted, but not forsaken struck down, but not destroyed” a line from the First Reading tonight, which captures the lessons about resilience I learnt through my time here at Xavier. Looking back now my Xavier experience could have been an extremely different one. When I started in Bellarmine in Year 9, I was coasting through school, doing the bare minimum and never giving extracurriculars more than a second glance. This all shifted after three weeks spent in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia on a school immersion. Spending time with the kids up there, I came to realise the real struggles many of them face regularly, struggles I had never had to consider from within my own comfortable world. The key takeaway from my time on immersion can be summarised by the philosophical term “sonder” the idea that everyone is living a life as complex and central to themselves as your own. I remember talking to a happy Year 3 student at the school, laughing and playing without a worry in the world only to then have to drop off a donated dinner to that same kid later that day, because their own parents would otherwise not be able to provide them with dinner. It was a moment that shocked me a reminder that behind every smile there is a story you may know nothing about. As my mum jokes, "I'm stuck in my own little bubble," and until that immersion, I was too oblivious to the struggles many face every day.
I came back and started taking every opportunity the school offered rather than watching from the sidelines, throwing myself into house life, extra circulars and Ignatian service. If opportunities like these aren't taken up, they can very easily pass you by. What the immersion and my time at Xavier has also taught me is that everyone carries something, whether or not it shows, which is what makes the small moments so important: checking in at the lockers, saying hi in the halls, asking a mate how they're actually going. These moments matter more in Year 12 than ever, when school, sport, friendships and everything else can seem to pile up. It's an openly discussed fact within Xavier, we hear the stories every year at voluntary masses, of boys being pulled out from dark places by nothing more than a simple chat with a mate. The opportunities this college gave me clearly altered my Xavier experience and made it far richer, and I wouldn't change a single part of it if I had the chance to do it all again.
That innate need for connection and support through these years is the cornerstone of the House system here at Xavier. Even in the hardest moments, there are twenty other boys in your house you can lean on, backed by a network of tutors, an amazing assistant head of house, and head of house, all reminding you that resilience was never meant to be built alone. But formed through a culture of being there for one another through both the highs and lows. I'm not saying this to suggest the road ahead is going to be hard, I know there will be plenty of good days too. But when the hard days come, and they will know that they're not something to fear. So, wherever you are in your own journey, know that the hardest moments along the way, are the ones that shape it. Take the opportunities in front of you, lean on the people around you, and trust that resilience isn't built in spite of the hard times, it's built because of them. That's what 'Integrity in all' really means — not just doing the right thing when it's easy but staying true to who you are when it's hard. That's the resilience this house has always stood for.
But most of all, tonight is a chance to thank our parents and families, who have sacrificed so much to get us here. To every parent who packed a lunch, who sat in the car park waiting after a training session ran late, who listened to us complain about our day and still turned up the next morning to do it all again thank you. It is because of these quiet sacrifices, made without ever expecting anything back, that we are all here tonight.
Ultimately, going to Xavier is an opportunity that should never be wasted. To my fellow Year 12’s we are so close to the finish line now, trust all the work you've done over this year, lean on each other, and know the friendships you've made along the way matter far more than any result in December. And to those taking the house forward from here, I know you're ready for it, especially with Hamish Evans leading you into it — Hamish, congratulations, this House is in good hands. Take every opportunity in front of you, because they'll give you experiences and insights you won't find anywhere else. And remember, we cannot enjoy the good times without living through the bad — it's the hard moments that make the good one’s worth having, and it's each other that gets us through both.
