Kelly Yan is the head girl of Macleans College. She is heavily involved in performance arts around the school, including the Macleans College Chorale, Te Kanawa Small House Choir, Cabaret and several musical productions. Outside of school, she is a co-chair for the Howick Youth Council.
We asked Kelly to reflect on her journey towards becoming head girl and if she had any advice to give to younger students at Macleans. Here is what she had to say:
I read about a study once, in which these beautiful giant Redwood trees were injected with a chemical similar to adrenaline, in an attempt to have the trees skip hibernation. Trees that normally lived for hundreds of years died within a year because they didn’t have a season for wintering. Although I’m not a giant or a tree, it made me think. As humans we tend to feel the need to be constantly busy; always producing, creating, being active, and occupied.
I fell headfirst into everything early on in my high school journey. Quickly falling down the rabbit hole of all the performing arts extracurriculars that Macleans had on offer. With the help of a light shove from my encouraging seniors, I joined everything that sparked my interest. I had found my passions. By year 10, I cemented a routine of spending a minimum of 70-80 hours a week in school, staying late for extracurriculars; rehearsals, meetings, or performances. I lived at school. I was there so often the teachers started asking me to pay rent. The adrenaline I’d get from the special moments propelled me with more momentum to reach even higher. I kept finding new ways to make more hours in the day and took advantage of every minute.
I’m so lucky that the groups I have been a part of throughout these years have been such a privilege. I love the little fact that when singing in a group, your heartbeats start to sync up. Or when the air feels tangible forming a ‘harmony cloud’ after you’ve let a chord ring. I’ve heard music in differing acoustics that have left me in awe and with so much pride to be part of those collectives. I branched into being behind the scenes, organising events for the rangatahi of East Auckland; seeing my love for my community grow the more connections I made. I’ve collected my trove of treasured moments and I’m truly grateful for all the experiences I’ve been lucky enough to have.
But what I’ve learnt is the most meaningful ones aren’t the memories that are fast-paced and loud but rather moments in quiet. The best part of a standing ovation isn’t the crowd, it’s the silence behind the final curtain closing, where you let out a unified breath full of pride, contentment and a hint of exhaustion.
I’m proud of my ambition, it has let me achieve things I’ve never dreamed of doing but it also meant I often toed the line of burnout. Rest does not have to follow a downfall, you don’t have to be unable to work to stop working for a moment. Taking care of yourself isn’t something you have to earn, it’s something you deserve. Because you can’t keep speeding forward if you never come up for air. We can’t expect ourselves to be in constant spring; always be in full bloom, reaching new heights; if we don’t let ourselves have those moments of peace.
Now that I’ve let myself take a breath and slow down to appreciate the little things, I can truly say that I have no regrets. I am so thankful for everything and everyone in my life because I’ve dedicated the time to appreciate them. So my advice is to let yourself have seasons of winter because there’s beauty even in the snow.
14th September 2024
Written by Kelly Yan, edited by Aaron Huang
Photography by Joseph Zhang
