“On Monday, Mr Fisher referenced Theodore Roosevelt’s ‘Man in the Arena’ speech, delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, in April 1910.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; … who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. (Abridged version)
“It served as a reminder to try new things, to do more ‘stuff’, to get involved. It may be to audition for the next school play, to join a new activity, or simply to put your hand up in class. Sometimes apathy prevents us from getting involved but it is often fear of failing or fear of what our friends might think. To overcome this fear, the challenge is to take calculated risks and to step out of our comfort zone. Mr Fisher also reminded us that we rarely achieve anything remotely worthwhile without real effort.
“Last night it was a privilege to be in the audience of the Vocalist Finals, where pupils were prepared to be ‘in the arena’. The quality of all performances was outstanding, but only represented a small fraction of the pupils who entered the competition. Everyone who entered should be commended for being ‘in the arena’.”