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Chapel Speech
Nisha Meyer
Mirror, Mirror
Good morning. By now I am sure most of you recognize me from giving announcements
concerning EQV or Student Council. Today I’m not here to talk about either of those. Sure many
of you know my face and what I do, but not all of you know who I am. If you know me at all, you
know that I love to talk and be around people. My biggest fear is being alone, therefore I am
constantly socializing. I honestly do not know who I would be or how happy I would be without
my friends, family, and Episcopal. Today, I am going to share with you a part of me that you
would not get from a convocation speech. Today you are going to realize who am I and why I do
what I do. As we all know, the chapel theme this year is “with God all things are possible.” As
you heard back in the Fall, one of my good friends, Megan Kilcullen put a twist on this and said
“with faith in yourself all things are possible.” This chapel speech sparked my idea. I believe that
if you have faith in others, all things are possible.
Being an English student of Ms. Baker I was forced to analyze diction, and I mean a lot of
diction. If you are a current student of Ms. Baker, you know that you do not earn all the points
on an essay unless you use diction. Ironically outside of the classroom I began to admire it and
even found my nerdy self talking about how some words sound or appear. One of these words is
mirror. Because of how the “r’s” repeat, the structure of the word mirror almost mirrors itself.
So why do we look in the mirror? To fix our hair, brush our teeth, or take some selfies?
You look in a mirror to a view yourself, yet when I really look into a mirror what I see is a
reflection of the people in my life. There are traits of others in me. There are virtues that I have
learned from others. I am composed of all the experiences I have endured with my friends and
family along my side.
I think of senior year as a mirror. It is a time of reflection. It’s the perfect juxtaposition of
being excited for what’s ahead while reminiscing on the past. As you move forward, all the
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memories are stuck in the back of your head. You depend on the lessons you have learned from
people to guide your future. When you really think about it, a lot of the little things that we are
doing everyday become our last “something.” Last game in a sport, last midterm, last spirit week,
last big cookie, and before you know it Seniors, we will be having our last day. This also means
that with everyday comes a last chance to do something. Do something big, do something small,
do something for yourself, or do something for someone else. I am not sure if many of you have
noticed, but Thomas Boynton and I realized there seems to be a lot more happiness this year.
May it be because of Mrs. Mclaughlin’s positivity campaign, we may never know, but I believe
that this community is supporting and treating each other more kindly. This something to be
proud of and recognize.
Your environment and the people around you shape who you are for better or worse. We
all are affecting one another by just being in each others’ presence every day. These interactions
can make or break your day. Just think if someone was down, by emphasizing and puting time
towards making someone else feel better you could really turn things around and make their day.
The power of caring goes a long way sometimes. I truly believe what goes around comes around,
and we would all appreciate someone recognizing if we are feeling a bit off or putting the effort
into a-pick-me-up. Trust me, when love is given, happiness is reciprocated.
It is who you choose to be around and associate yourself with that makes you, you. You
friends secure your identity. They like you for your personality, they may do the same activities
and sports as you, they may share common interests with you, they share insiders with you, they
are a part of you. Many of us depend on our friends in times of trouble, celebration, or just a
break from the hectic day. We all need an outlet to vent to, someone who can relate, and a
person that we can be our complete selves with. I remember the day when one of my best friends,
Shreya, got into college. As I awaited a Facebook status update about college, Shreya finally
called me. I picked up shaking anxiously. She said calmly “Nish, I got in,” and I freaked out. Like
really freaked out. I was weeping with happiness, sprinting and screaming around my house.
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Shrey and I have confirmed that I was more excited than she was that day. I got in trouble later
because my parents thought someone got hurt- it was really that bad. This moment proved to
me how much you can really care for someone. When you can’t help but be completely devoted
and concentrated on someone else rather than yourself and share their emotions. Its kind of
remarkable how close you can get to someone.
It’s hard for many of us to see that some people feel lost because we feel so “in” place. We
have all been there. Everyone has felt left out once in their life. We know what it’s like to be in a
room full of people and yet still feel alone, out of place, off, and distant. Sometimes these people
try. I have witnessed many incidents when someone is clearly on the outskirts, rejected, and left
isolated even when he or she tried to be accepted. I have also been this person.
In lower school I was very quiet and reserved. Who would have guessed? When I was in
Kindergarden, I vividly remember crying on my parents’ bed after school one night because I
thought no one like me. Imagine this. A 5 year old with tears dripping down her flushed cheeks,
face buried into the heavy blankets, and the rest of her limbs paralyzed as she laid still with her
mom stroking her hair. Somehow I muffled between sobs and sniffles, “I have no friends.” It
was hard to go to school everyday and this was just elementary. I can’t imagine what it would be
like for someone to feel like this now. Eventually, I started to make close friendships and branch
out. Then one day I finally found that friend who was just like me, and I knew that this person
would stay by my side. This person was my first and real best friend and still is. Because of this
moment, I became confident and made an effort to be friendly and strived to involve other
people in my life. This is why I am always going out of my way to help people, and why I may
appear as overly friendly or obsessed with being surrounded by company. I cherish and value
my friendships more than anything because I hated feeling disconnected as a child. I do things
for other people not to gain any moral credit but because it makes me feel truly happy and
fulfilled. With this feeling, I let myself try for things out of my reach and out of my comfort zone.
I know anything is possible when I have strong relationships and love backing me up.
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As I said, I am not completely content unless the people I surround my everyday with are
also happy. I am always considering other people. When someone is stressed, I start panicking.
When someone is down, my mood shifts. When someone is up, I get giddy. My response is
directly related to how the other person may feel. I do this because I have learned from being in
these positions that when someone takes the time to show you that they care about you and are
thinking about you, you feel better. Because I am so closely attached to my friends, I put all my
faith in my relationships. Majority of my actions are centered around the people that are around
me. I trust all my friends completely and I am wholeheartedly open towards them. I honestly
can attest that if they needed me for anything, I would do anything for my friends in a heartbeat.
I can’t help but feel obligated to reach out and do a bit extra for everyone, not just my friends,
because in return I hope that this becomes something contagious like a smile or a laugh.
On the notes section of my phone, I have a running list of quotes I love to go back to.
This annoys my friends from time to time because sometimes mid conversation I will throw one
out. One of these quotes is from a text we read this year in my Brit Lit class called The Picture of
Dorian Gray. The quote states, “The reason we all like to think so well of others is that we are
afraid for ourselves.” I stand by this quote. I believe that life is truly unpredictable and this can
be frightening. The thought of the unknown and the uncertainty of how we will respond to it is
worrisome. We have to force ourselves to trust those around us, to focus on the good in people
rather than the bad. If we don’t give others a chance or expect the best out of them, how can we
have hope in ourselves and suppose that we will do the right thing? Like a mirror, how we treat
and look at others will reflect how we see ourselves.
I believe that if we have faith in others and our relationships we can try to do our very
best. We will not be afraid of the impossible as long as someone is telling you that no matter
what I will be here for you. We can get through anything for better or worse when we have each
other. It isn’t easy but with the support and love from others we can get through the hardest of
times.
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Sure, you can call me a people pleaser, I have been called that before, but I don’t see it as
that. I realized that people need people to get through life, to make things possible, to make life’s
bumps smoother. I’m not asking all of you to make your every actions or thoughts revolve
around others, I’m just asking that you take the time in each day to reflect. Think twice before
judging someone. Think about the people who got you where you are today, the people who
make you laugh, the people who are always there for you. One day you may not always get to be
with them. So don’t wait until your last chance to show them that you care. Look into your
mirror and see who has made you. Do they know that? Thank you.