Teacher and friends, aliens kidnapped me! Hmm, I see that you don’t believe me but it is true. And it happens every night. You see, I made a pact with their leader. If I teach them everything about boys, they bring me safely back to earth every morning before my mom wakes me up. The leader’s name is GRIBJONOCHOKR but that is very hard to say, so I just call him John, for short.

Anyway, you must wonder what I teach them. Let me tell you a secret! These aliens aren’t very bright. They can’t understand the simplest things I tell them and just shake their heads.

Every night I show them over and over again that boys don’t like to bath.

I show them over and over that you don’t have to wash between your toes, you don’t have to wash behind your ears and you don’t have to wash your face if it isn’t dirty. Aliens can’t understand this because they like to be clean.

They asked me what a toothbrush is. I said: “You use a toothbrush to brush the mud off your school shoes if you forget to clean them.”

They asked why I have a dog. I said: “I have a dog because he eats my homework when I don’t have time to do it.”

Of course, these aliens can’t understand that at all and shake their heads.

Friends, there is still so much that I must teach them. But you know what? My mom also can’t understand what I am trying to tell her. She sent me back to the bathroom this morning to wash my face AND brush my teeth.

Hmm, I think my mom might be an alien.

Friends, teachers, parents lend me your ears. I’ve come to tell you that “to be or not to be” is not even a question but neither is it the answer. No, the answer is that for each and every one of us the stage is set and only you can decide what and how big-a role you want to play and whether you will be successful.

As our friend, Will, so aptly wrote in the play “As you like it”, “All the world is a stage and all the men and women are merely players.” Being a bit of an actress myself, I fancy the idea that I am in a play, even though, at the tender age of 15, I’m sometimes uncertain of my role and in which direction I am headed.

Some of my “co-actors” believe that “fate” plays a leading role but I prefer to think of “fate” as the “prompter” who sits in the wings, and if you suddenly forget your lines or somehow lose the plot, “fate” will nudge you in the right direction with just a few words whispered in your ear. You know, that “gut feeling” that “something” that tells you: “I have to do this”.

But most of the time we are our own directors, stage managers, players and, of course, lighting technicians because only we can determine the “light” that other people see us in.

I am not saying that there are no external influences on the different roles we play, and, yes, we play a multitude of roles during our lives. Every person who enters or exits the Act or Scene that you are currently playing, impacts on your life.

But, getting back to the “different roles” we play – it is a fact of life, a fact of the “play” we are in, that we will play many roles throughout our lives. Shakespeare says seven but he was only referring to the different ages.

I say your roles are many and diverse; and as you progress through life, they have to change with you. No one is born a doctor… or a mother… or a friend. No! These are all roles that you grow into, study hard to master and sometimes even fail at miserably.

Any seasoned actor will tell you that the secret behind creating a character, is to truly believe in what you are doing. When you set foot on stage you must become your role otherwise everyone else will see through you – for the fake you are.

So, be all you can be. Live your life to the full. Embrace each and every role and opportunity that is handed to you, even if you sometimes have to “fake it ‘til you make it”.

And, when the final curtain falls, take your bow with grace and give the rest of humanity reason for a standing ovation.