School Daze: 'I wish I had known you grow out of blushing'

Sinead Moriarty,  a Take the First Step Ambassador for 2020, an organisation which encourage those who have difficulties with literacy and numeracy to reach out and seek support

Penguin author, Sinead Moriarty, at her south Dublin home. "The relief when I grew out of it (blushing) was enormous." Picture: Brian Farrell

I went to a French primary school in Dublin where everything was taught through French. It was a brilliant start in life as it opened up my mind to other languages and people from different backgrounds and cultures. My Mum spoke French, having lived in Belgium for a year, and thought it would be a great idea for her kids to speak French too. I’m so glad she sent me there as I made some lifelong friends that I am still in touch with, even though we are spread out across the globe.

I went to an all-girls Catholic convent in Dublin for my secondary school. It was very strict, and at times stifling, but I made incredible friends and had great fun. The great thing about the school was that it taught you to believe you could be anything. It was, looking back, a feminist school. You were always told that you could achieve anything if you worked hard enough. It’s a valuable life lesson.

My first teacher in the French school was Madame Annie and she was very special. My own three kids were lucky enough to be taught by her too. She is one of those magical teachers that just ‘gets’ kids. I still see her to this day and she is still a shining star. Every child that was lucky enough to be taught by her, loved her. She had a special gift.

My strongest memory of secondary school is laughing and messing about with my friends. We laughed a lot. We found humour in everything and still do.

I loved having the craic. I loved my friends and laughing about stupid things. I also loved making people laugh. But I also loved daydreaming and would get into bed at night with my Walkman and listen to Sunshine radio for hours and daydream. I’ve always been a reader too. Books were a huge part of our lives. Every surface in our house was falling down with books, so reading was a big thing in our family.

I was always good at English and loved essay writing but I struggled with Physics. It was like trying to learn Chinese. I just didn’t get it. I remember asking the girl who sat beside me – who was the smartest girl in my year – to explain something to me. She did. I still had no clue. She kept saying, ‘do you not see?’ I did not see. I was not even close to seeing. Frankly, I was blind. 

I faked being sick by rubbing white Sudocrem all over my face to avoid a test. Eventually, I gave up and changed subject. It was a huge relief. Sometimes in life, you have to admit defeat.

In school, I learned that hard work reaps rewards. Also, to aim high and have big dreams. But most of all, that you learn more from failure than you do from success. Have fun, laugh loud, and laugh often. Your sense of humour will get you through tough times. Also, to value your friends.

I wish I had known that you grow out of blushing. I was a terrible blusher — I went bright red on my face, neck, and chest. The relief when I grew out of it was enormous.

Every single year at the first assembly our headmistress would say — Yesterday is gone, forget about it, it’s over. Tomorrow hasn’t come yet, there is no point worrying about it. Today is here. Live today. Today is what you can control. Wise words and, although we used to roll out eyes every year when she trotted out the same speech, the message stayed with me.

As well as Madam Annie, a teacher called Miss Kane, who was my secondary school English teacher stand out as teachers who influenced me. I wrote to Miss Kane after my first book was published to thank her for supporting and encouraging me in English class over those formative years.

I think everything that happens in your life and every experience you have influences you in one way or another. It all makes up the person you become. I am sure that school did influence my career path as it was during those years that I realised I could write well. My essays were always read out in class, so I knew I could tell stories. It just took me a while to figure out what to do with them.

• Sinead Moriarty is a Take the First Step Ambassador for 2020. ‘Take the First Step’ is a national public information campaign to encourage those who have difficulties with literacy and numeracy to reach out and seek support. To find out more, see www.takethefirststep.ie