Doers, not dreamers!

Self- belief allows you to shape your path. Yet Head Prefects of Sussex College, Negombo Sewwandi Premathilaka and Ravishka Bandara know that to change the world you need to believe that change is possible. Perfect Prefects features the duo who are doers, not dreamers.

Head Boy of Sussex College Negombo, Ravishka Bandara painted a dark world but one with the powerful presence of hope. He believes there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

“When talking about the world it has many problems in many fields, but there are certain issues that make me passionate enough to find a solution. One such issue is humanity. At present humanity is nowhere to be found. People have hearts of stone. They do not feel sadness, love or sympathy for others. This is the reason why people kill their fellow human beings including animals, and sometimes it is to get some enjoyment out of it.

The second issue that I have is the loss of freedom and even basic human rights due to culture. For example in Yemen young girls are forced to marry men twice their age! At the age of five girls are forced into marriage, depriving them of their right to an education and childhood. In another instance, a young girl of age 12 died as she had to stay in labour for 12 days. These are the issues that should be talked about, yet no one talks about it and that is why I am passionate about these issues, and I want to do something about it,” explained Bandara.

He feels that as the head prefect of his school, the secret to his success is his attitude –‘Working smart and not hard’ while accepting his errors and correcting them before things get out of control.

“Handling pressure is easy but is warned - when you get over-excited or get hyped up, it is very difficult to handle the pressure. I always try to remain calm and try to be patient. Due to my patience, I always find the best solution regarding any issue. Just as they say patience is the key to success!,” said Bandara.

Bandara has a strategy when it comes to creating a well -organized and efficient society. He feels that there should be a system in place where people are given responsibilities according to their capabilities and skills. The talent and the field need to match. At the same time, people need to be able to enjoy life with freedom.

“My message to anyone who wants to become a leader is to just go out into the real world and work smart and never give up on your target. Even though the world may be laughing at you, don’t lose your focus or your will to win. Always think twice before you do anything and if you fail, do it again and again or change the method. But never stop believing in yourself and keep the faith,” said Bandara.

His ambition in life is to become a cybersecurity analyst or ethical hacker. But he has many other dreams too. One of his dreams is to engage in video game competitions like ESPN e-sports and to engage in hacking competitions like Cyber War and Darpa. In addition to all of this, his outside interests are to travel, interact with nature and play sports like cricket and volleyball. He also is very keen on playing video games.

“I love reading books and movies, especially comedy like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and horror books like Maze Runner, Goosebumps. I watch horror and action movies too because I feel that we can learn to embrace our fears and learn about foreign cultures,” said Bandara.

Bandara emphasized on the point he made above that that you should never stop believing in yourself

pointing out that Dwayne Johnson and Bill Gates were ordinary and poor people but due to their hard work and will they are now affluent people in the world

“My biggest inspiration in life is my mum. She is my goddess and my best friend. She always guides, motivates and enlightens me. Even when I fail she gives me hope and the will to win. She is the person that helps me to get up when I fall. School is my second home. It is the place where I learnt about the real world. It’s the place where I encountered many challenges and it has shaped my character, making me a better person. It is the place where I understood my talents and developed them,” said Bandara.

Head Girl of Sussex College Negombo, Sewwandi Premathilaka knows that change is possible if we take a brave decision to make a change. In her words – we need to be doers and not dreamers. We need to think about others.

“In the first place, since we are humans we can change the world. Humans are the supreme creatures on the earth. Some people have selfish motives, and they are also money minded. I would like to see more and more people caring for each other. You should always become a doer, not a dreamer,” explained Premathilaka.

She points out that the main reason for her success is her capacity to work hard. Having faced many challenges in her life, still, she has never lost focus when it comes to her targets. That, focus coupled with her dedication, has enabled her to overcome those challenges. She is a confident young woman who believes in herself.

She points out that terrorism is a major problem in the world. She feels that strong leadership along with education can curb this problem. Because people should be educated from their early childhood, to be more sympathetic and kindhearted.

“Being a leader is no easy task because you always have followers around you. You should always try your best to have an exemplary character. Sometimes you need to act independently when faced with any situation. Life is a question paper that you get and there is an answer to every question paper you get. But you have to find those answers. You must do your level best to achieve your targets. Nothing is impossible in the world, so you should never stop trying,” added Premathilaka.

The stress factor in the world is at the roots of many a conflict. Her ways of coping with stress are simple and effective. There needs to be the release of all that pent up energy.

“Stress is an inevitable factor when it comes to facing challenges, and I love facing challenges. Listening to music is an excellent way of coping with stress. Taking part in sports is another way of coping with stress and for me, most of the time it is athletics. Both methods are very helpful to me. I am an athlete and I enjoy taking part in competitions. Off the field, I enjoy reading books and listening to music. Music allows my mind to be calm and by being calm I can conceive of solutions to my problems. Music, I regard as a friend that is with me both in my happiness and sorrow. I love fiction, and regard J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books as some of the best I have ever read,” said Premathilaka.

She is already preparing for her future. She is wasting absolutely no time. Others may give up but not Premathilaka.

“As humans we all have dreams, but only a few truly reach them. My ambition is to become a Dermatologist. I will surely achieve my target, but it will be a long journey, and after four months I will start my race. The first challenge is the extremely competitive local examination I will be facing,” said Premathilaka.

“One leader I admire in this day and age is Imran Khan. He is working very hard to rid his country of poverty and corruption. Mahatma Gandhi is another leader I admire very much. He is a leader celebrated through history for his movement of non-violence.

My biggest inspiration in life is my parents and my teacher Susil Premarathne. They are all such a strength to me. My teacher is one of the wisest people I ever knew. Apart from my parents, he is one of the greatest people I have ever known. They are the people who encourage me, help me fulfil my responsibilities and help me achieve my dreams. My memories of school are some of the best memories I have. I am where I am today because of my parents and teachers. I would like to thank them with all my heart. I want to thank the entire prefect committee and my Principal Kasun Dissanayake,” said Premathilaka.