感恩，是一双翅膀，让我们带着爱飞向更高远的天空；感恩，也是一种力量，让少年的壮志化作搏击长空的鹏鸟。

担任本次升旗任务的是初中部仪仗队。初中部仪仗队由学部志愿者社团成员组成，他们步伐坚定，精神饱满。以昂扬向上的风貌展现着新英才学子的责任与担当。

感恩是一种美德，更是一种行动。在这个毕业季，我们尤其要感谢那些一路陪伴我们成长的人。

来自剑桥国际中心九年级的王艺涵和马菁以Friendship – The Family We Choose为主题展开蓝点演讲。

Friendship – The Family We Choose

In this season of gratitude, we often say thank you to our parents, our teachers, and those who take care of us. and we should. But today, I want to talk about someone we rarely thank out loud. Someone who has no duty to love us, but chooses to anyway.

There’s a famous saying: family is the people we don’t get to choose. But friendship is different. Friendship is the family we choose for ourselves. Think about it: your friend has no legal obligation to stand by you. They don’t have to share their lunch, stay up late to listen to your worries, or celebrate your small wins. and yet, they do. Not because they have to. Because they want to.

Let me tell you something my friend did for me. I really love those little paper stars—the tiny folded ones. I never asked for them, but I guess I said once that I thought they looked cool. Weeks later, my friend handed me a jar full of stars. Completely full. If you've ever folded one of those things, you know it takes forever. Each star is tiny; each one takes like a minute. A whole jar? That's hours. That's someone sitting there folding tiny pieces of paper when they could have been doing literally anything else. and they didn't say a word about it. Just handed it over like it was nothing. like it wasn't a hundred little stars folded by hand.

Here’s another thing. I get really bad motion sickness—embarrassingly bad. I mentioned it once to a friend, just casually: “Yeah, I always need to sit in the front.” Then came the school trip. We were getting on the bus, and before I even said anything, Sophie just handed me a pill and a bottle of water. “Here. Take this before we start moving.” That's it. No big speech. But my friend remembered—from one random sentence weeks ago. That is worth stopping for. That is worth being grateful for.

Gratitude for friendship is not about big gestures. It's not about birthday parties or group photos. It’s about noticing the small things: the person who saved you a seat, the one who said “you’ve got this” before your presentation, the one who walked with you in silence when you had nothing to say. Friendship is not perfect. We argue, we misunderstand each other, sometimes we hurt the people we care about most. But here’s the thing: the friends who stay, the ones who come back after a fight, the ones who say “let’s talk” instead of “let’s leave”—they are teaching us something powerful. They are teaching us that love is not about never failing. Love is about choosing each other anyway.

So in this month of gratitude, I want to invite all of us to do something simple but real. Thank one friend. Not online. Not in a group chat. Just say it. Write a note. Tap them on the shoulder. Say: “I don’t say this enough, but thank you for being my friend.” You don’t need a big stage to be grateful. You just need a moment of honesty.

Friendship is the family we choose. And like any family, it deserves to be seen, held, and thanked. So today, look around. Someone in this crowd has chosen you. and if you’re lucky enough to have that person—don’t forget to say thank you.


友谊是岁月中最温暖的陪伴，包容是成长中最珍贵的品格。在感恩月里，我们不仅要感恩师长与亲人，也要珍惜身边的每一份友谊，学会理解、学会包容。

愿我们在感恩月中，学会珍惜，学会回报，在爱与被爱中共同成长。