Sample Speech – Transition Year

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.