Lisa Maza (Meriam/Yidindji/Dutch) has worked from Melbourne as a professional singer, actor and MC for the past sixteen years. In 2007, she began co-writing with her sister, and their autographically inspired theatre show Sisters of Gelam premiered at the Malthouse Theatre in November 2009.

Lisa, Lisa, Lisa,

I know high school isn’t anything like what you imagined … well, if truth be told, you hadn’t really thought much about school after you left. When you found out you got into the high school everybody wanted to go to, you were excited but you soon got busy enjoying your holidays, and fair enough. There was winning Monopoly (beating Rachael), figuring out how many lollies you could get with the handful of coins you had or how cute the boy next door’s friend was.

With the holidays well and truly over, you turn twelve and high school starts. Every day you go from classroom to classroom. Like a sheep you are herded along with the flock from one paddock to the next. You hate being treated like everyone else. A year goes by, you are thirteen and year eight begins. The rebellion starts. You assert your difference, your individuality. You begin by disregarding the uniform bit by bit: different-coloured stockings, ribbons, shoes, jumpers, much to the Maths master’s disgust and the headmistress’s disdain.

You put up with it in year seven but now you really hate teachers telling you what to do. Even your own (hippy) parents didn’t boss you around. What gives teachers the right?

Newsflash! Teachers are there to teach, instruct … I know you don’t want to be bossed around, but trying to teach a class of thirty or more students requires some disciplining, particularly to those who continue to talk and distract others. And another thing for you to consider … Teachers are human beings!!! I know … it’s shocking! When it dawned on me years after I left school, I was more than a bit surprised … Oh, another thing … they have feelings too. I know, it’s a lot to absorb at your age … but you need to know that talking in class makes their job very difficult and distracts them from doing what they are there to do. (Seriously, just put yourself in their shoes for one minute. Just give it a try, please!)

I know, I know, you need to express your teenage angst, but do you think putting thumbtacks on a teacher’s chair is an appropriate way of punishing her for saying that ‘you should be more like your sister’ (who is at the same high school now and is apparently very well behaved, gets good results and listens in class). Look, to be honest your antics just waste everyone’s time: the teachers, the students and, possibly even more importantly, yours! Most teachers are actually good people, who are genuinely interested in children getting a decent education and having a prosperous future.

I know, it seems like you’ve been in school forever already but this is the basis for the rest of your life. You do not want to waste the next six years of high school only to look back and regret that you could have learned so much, had an understanding of politics or been fluent in a foreign language (which would have been very handy when you travelled to Spain that time and were stranded after getting off a cheap Ryanair flight in the middle of nowhere – because you didn’t even know the word for ‘train’, you couldn’t even ask how to get the train to Barcelona) or discovered the history of the world, or had a grasp of geography, or commerce or many other useful things.

Being different doesn’t mean being dumb, you know? Why don’t you make being different mean being smart … now that would really be something different!

Look, I’ve been around for 35 years longer than you and know a few things about you. You are a good person, you like people and people generally like you, you love cooking and eating and you adore adventure. You are smart but you just hate being told what to do. I’ve got some advice, which might be helpful. But you can obviously take it … or leave it. It’s up to you …

This is your life. Enjoy and appreciate every moment of it because there is only one and it is happening right here, right now!!! It is not a dress rehearsal, this is it!!! Time is disappearing even as you read this, so hurry up and finish reading so you can get on with it.

If you want an exciting life, then try as many things as you can, as often as you can. Do, see, taste, listen, travel, dance, laugh and experience everything. Don’t waste your time waiting for something to happen … Make it happen!!!

Doing something is always better than doing nothing (except reading trash magazines, they will only make you feel ugly and are a waste of time). So work hard and don’t be afraid to have a go. By having a go, you will at least figure out whether it is something you don’t want to do, thus narrowing down your options in the future.

Don’t worry about the future or what you want to do. I still don’t know what I want to do … and I’m a lot older than you. Opportunities will continue to present themselves to you throughout your life. You will take them … or you won’t.

Never worry yourself about what others say about you. It honestly says more about them than it does about you. Let it be water off a duck’s back. You will only ever believe what you choose to believe anyway … I can prove it: for example, if someone called you fat, dumb and ugly and someone else called you smart, talented and beautiful, which one would you believe, the first negative one or the second positive one? I suggest you take them both with a grain of salt or not at all. They are just someone else’s opinion and they only become yours if you choose to believe them. Create positivity for yourself and in everything around you, because being negative will stop you from enjoying every wonderful possibility and fabulous experience in your life.

Stop blaming others! You are in control of your own destiny, and the sooner you realise this, the sooner you can get on with whatever it is you want to get on with.

Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. You can’t control that. Just focus on what you’re doing, because that is something you can control. The only race you need to be in is the one you set for yourself.

Make mistakes and make lots of them. This is what the journey of life is all about. Without mistakes we have nothing to learn from. Don’t stress about the end results, they will come soon enough.

Forgive others and forgive yourself. Forgiveness is not about saying that someone is right (especially when you think they are wrong). It’s about freeing you from the negativity of the past (the past being the past 10 years, 10 weeks or even 10 seconds) that will burden and distract you from wonderful life experiences in the future.

Love your family. Something wise Mum said is, ‘Friends come and go but your family will always be your family.’ It is true, they are here to stay (whether you like it or not) and I’ve come to believe that a family ends up together on this earth to learn something from each other. No matter how hard or easy that may be, you will know your family longer than anyone else in your life. Cherish them and let them know how much you love them, even if it seems a bit weird to do so.

Beware and be aware of fear. It is your worst enemy. Yes, fear is a natural thing and is very useful in the right circumstances; for example, if you are in physical danger. But that’s not the fear I’m talking about. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of being seen to be trying too hard, fear of what others might think, fear that isn’t real, that is not really threatening but appears that way in our head. That fear will never go away so don’t waste time hoping it will. The best thing to do is to reduce its impact. Start by acknowledging it so you can continue forward and move beyond it. Don’t let fear stop you from doing whatever it is you want to do or from expressing yourself fully. Be curious, excited, hungry, noisy, big and energised, and trust that everything will be okay, because it will.

You are your own worst enemy. Stop being so serious and critical, and start congratulating yourself for your achievements and appreciate who you are.

I would like to make a Toast … To Love, Generosity and Courage!!!