Write a speech, for a class debate for or against the motion: “Young people should travel and see the world before joining the workforce or furthering their education.” (2016 composition section).
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Good morning classmates, fellow students, Ms Leahy, adjudicators and members of the opposition. For those of you who don’t know, my name is Charlotte. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be speaking here this morning. As my opponent Grace has already made clear, today’s motion poses the question of whether or not young people should take time out after finishing second level education to see more of the world. As this is an issue that I feel particularly strongly about, I am proud to be arguing in favour of it today for reasons I will now outline.
The most obvious asset of travelling at this stage in our lives is undoubtedly getting the opportunity to disconnect from the treadmill of everyday life. The traveller gets to forget their problems for a few weeks, whether it be under the blazing sun of Marrakesh or in the tangled lanes of Prague. Imagine for a moment the feeling of strolling out of your physics exam in a few months’ time, knowing that you are about to escape from the pressure-cooker of exam stress and career anxieties which we’ve all been trapped in for the last two years. The bedlam that has consumed all of our lives recently could be abandoned for some time in the Alps or Pyrenees mountains. That time, spent alone or with friends, is something that would be valued by everybody in this room by the end of June, I think. Am I wrong?
It cannot be denied that travelling increases our knowledge and widens our perspective. To view new customs, different ways of living and other lifestyles is fantastic for the mind. It gave me a whole new perspective on things when I went to Turkey last year and was confronted with the dichotomy of extreme wealth and extreme poverty. I will never again take for granted the luxury of having a warm bed, a hot dinner and a clean bathroom after seeing the squalor and filth in which some of the homeless population of Turkey live. I am adamant that this has made me a better person and I think that a similar effect would be had on the majority of our generation, which is so preoccupied with our superfluous gadgets and gizmos that we sometimes lose sight of the real substance in our lives, the things that could be taken away and leave us devastated at any minute.
However, just as travelling is humbling, it is also empowering. It enables us to take on new challenges. It forces us out of our comfort zone and thrusts us into “independent mode”. We have to be mindful of our own budget, security, safety and belongings when abroad. Mammy and Daddy aren’t going to be texting you every five minutes to remind you to put on sunscreen! Well, actually, now that I think about it, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of mine doing just, that but that’s beside the point! I guarantee you, if you can spend a fortnight looking after yourself in Eastern Europe, you can do anything. It’s going to be skills like that that will make you the real star of the workplace or lecture theatre.
I think a lot of people put off travelling because they want to be responsible, work hard, get married, have kids and build up a life. However, I think it’s a grave error to procrastinate with the belief that you can do it when you’re retired and have more time. While I certainly plan to continue to travel after I retire, I also realise that I am not guaranteed old age. There aren’t going to be any summertime frolics in the Caribbean for me when I’m a pensioner if I trip and fall down the stairs and break my neck on my way to collect my diploma at my college graduation ceremony. However, if I had taken the time to see everything the world has to offer before progressing to third level, perhaps I would have fewer regrets as I went tumbling gracelessly down those stairs, arms flailing. I would have experienced the world to the best of my ability by taking every opportunity presented to me to see as much of this gorgeous planet as I can.
Has anybody here ever felt a disconnection from the material they’ve been learning from their textbooks for the last fourteen years? I know I have. Sadly, I was never one for history until last summer. I couldn’t bring myself to have any passion for the oh-so-patriotic soldiers who went off to fight in wars, nor the French proletariat who overthrow their government, nor Winston Churchill and his passionate wartime speeches. They were just ink in a textbook to me. All that changed when I had the privilege of visiting the very place where Marie Antoinette and her husband King Louis were guillotined, while on holiday in France last summer. All of a sudden, all those history lessons I felt so removed from became real and vivid. It became crystal clear to me that these were real people who lived and died, loved and were loved, had personalities and interests and weren’t that different to us. Travel truly makes history come alive, and the same is true for all disciplines. Go to Andorra and see the mountains you’ve been drawing diagrams of in geography class for years! Don’t just read about Bavarian gentians in the poetry of D.H. Lawrence, go to Southern Germany and smell them for yourself! I implore you, go out and into the world and prove to yourself that learning has a purpose and a reward. You’ll appreciate seeing these marvels so much more when they are still fresh in your head than you would if you were older and could barely remember the first thing about them.
Finally, and in contradiction to what my esteemed opponent said before me, travelling doesn’t have to break the bank! It has never been this cheap to travel. A recent poll of passengers in Dublin Airport revealed that 73% of them paid less than €100 for the flight they were about to board. However, with soaring oil prices, the cheap travel era may be about to end. Now is the time. Seize your opportunity. Take the risk, choose your destination and start planning your trip today. When you come back you’re not going to be worrying about not having gone to college or joined the workforce at the same time as Johnny, Micky and Paddy. Even if you do make a mistake and find yourself in a situation that is not suited to you, keep in mind that money will come back, but years won’t. I’ll leave you with the inspiring words of Helen Keller, who had the right idea about travel: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all”.
Thank you.
A review of the 2016 paper can be found here
