The Mirror Within

Upper School Prefect Imogen reflects on a Sisters in Sport Leadership Day and the powerful idea that the qualities we admire in others are already within us.

Each week, Wenona's student leaders share their insights with their peers in Assembly.

Together with Wenona's Sport Captains, I participated in Ascham's Sisters in Sport Leadership Day, a network that aims to champion women in sports leadership, celebrate their achievements and amplify their voices to pave the way for a more inclusive future in sport.

We heard from Australian rally car driver Molly Taylor, who emphasised that rally success is built on teamwork and resilience. Even though the driver gets most of the attention, every result, good or bad, is created by the whole team working together. She highlighted the idea that "if you can see it, you can be it," and normalised failure by reminding us that things go wrong more often than they go right, and that crashing is simply part of learning.

Rugby Sevens Olympic gold medallist Chloe Dalton centred her message on community and collective power. Creating a space for underrepresented voices can shift conversations and drive real change, and when people come together with a shared purpose, they can influence systems and make progress that no one could achieve alone.

The final speaker of the day, Katina Janev, conducted an activity called "mirrors". She asked us to think of someone who inspires us, whether a parent, sibling, neighbour or friend, and to consider the qualities we admire most in that person.

For me, I wrote down my brother, Axel, who completed an Ironman last year and is working towards a full triathlon by the end of this year. It is his discipline, drive and ambition that allows him to achieve anything he sets his mind to. These are the qualities I want to develop within myself.

Katina then expanded this idea. Those qualities, virtues, the things that stand out most in other people: they are a mirror. The qualities we see in others already exist in us. Even if they aren't fully realised, they are bubbling under the surface, anticipating the moment when we need them most.

What I took away from that day is that leadership isn't something distant or reserved for someone else. It starts when you recognise what's already there. The people we admire are not just role models; they are mirrors, reflecting the strength, courage and potential that already exists inside each of us. Those qualities are not out of reach; they are waiting for us to step into them.

And while mirrors don't always show us exactly what we want, especially at 7am on a Monday morning, they do show us the truth. They show us who we are, and more importantly, who we can become. We don't need to wait to be extraordinary. We don't need permission, and we don't need to have everything figured out. Because the leadership, the courage and the potential we're looking for isn't somewhere else.

All we have to do is look in the mirror and start believing.