Welcome to the new school year. For senior secondary students who will soon face public examinations and important crossroads in life, these years are a golden period. Today, I hope that throughout your high school years, you will complete one important assignment: “Weaving Your Own Parachute.”
The day you graduate from College will be like jumping out of an airplane and into the vast, unfamiliar sky of society. Learning to become an adult means learning to weave a strong parachute for yourself before you land. Your parents cannot weave this parachute for you; you must make it with your own hands, using four essential threads.
The first thread is the suspension line of Autonomy and Responsibility. Young people often see being able to make independent decisions and take responsibility for their actions as signs that they have truly grown up. In the past, teachers may have had to remind you to hand in your homework, and your parents may have had to wake you up. But when you begin planning your own revision schedule, accept the consequences of being late because you stayed up playing games, and stop blaming others, you are fastening the first strong suspension line to your parachute.
The second thread is the canopy of Emotional Resilience. Maturity requires us to build a stable inner value system that is not easily shaken by outside influences. When you face the pressure of public examinations and setbacks in relationships, the winds around you may be strong. A child may lose their temper or run away from difficulties, but an adult is like a roly-poly toy. They allow themselves to fall and feel discouraged, yet soon regain their balance and manage their emotions. This resilience helps keep the canopy of your parachute from tearing in the storms of adversity.
The third thread is the frame of Practical Independence. Sociological research commonly regards managing daily life and developing financial awareness as objective signs of adulthood. A parachute cannot be a mere fantasy; it needs a practical frame for support. When you begin managing your allowance wisely, helping with household chores on your own initiative, and taking care of yourself when you are ill instead of relying on your parents to clean up every mess, your parachute develops the frame needed to support your daily life.
The fourth thread is the weave of embracing Diversity and Respecting Boundaries. In developmental psychology, Postformal Thought describes an adult’s ability to understand that the world contains many shades of grey. When we are young, we may easily argue with others simply because they hold different opinions. Growing up means learning to respect differences. We can communicate rationally with our parents without following them blindly, while also accepting people whose views differ from our own. This broad-minded way of thinking allows your parachute to hold more air and fly more steadily.
Maturity is a process, not a state. A parachute cannot be created in an instant, and your high school years are the best training ground. In this new school year, may you weave your parachute stitch by stitch on campus. I wish you all the courage to carry this parachute, woven with your own hands, into the future, soaring bravely, safely, and gracefully through the sky before landing steadily.
Principal Yau
September, 2026
