Captains’ Corner | Vice Captain, Anton Saunders

For several days, I sat asking myself, where will this week’s instalment of Captains’ Corner emanate from, and will I discuss? It wasn’t until English in Period 4 on Monday that it became clear.

I leant over to my fellow Terracian, a great mate of mine and an exemplar of the Terrace Gentleman, Dario Andrijich, and said, nothing more, nothing less – a meaningless saying which has generated a reliable laugh amongst the Seniors these past weeks. I shared my struggle to write this article with him, and jokingly, we concluded that I should include nothing more, nothing less. While laughs were exchanged, I pondered this absurd idea – having little to work with besides it. I sought out Mr Mills, who has been teaching our class in the unfortunate absence of Mrs Lightbody, for his infinite wisdom in the literary genre and current affairs. 

Earlier in the lesson, he had mentioned an episode of a podcast which addressed the current affairs to date, and discussed how society was described in such a way that it resembled George Orwell’s dystopian future in his novel 1984, which we are currently studying in English. I shared my struggle to write this article with Mr Mills, and also that I now intended to incorporate the saying, nothing more, nothing less. Now, I was prepared to be greeted with perplexity, given the absurdity of my ambitions, but to my surprise, Mr Mills ran with it. After our discussion, I knew what I wanted to write in this article.

Although I previously thought that nothing more, nothing less is just a meaningless saying, which as yet hasn't failed to produce a laugh amongst a small group of Terracians in their Senior year, my engagement on Monday in English with Dario and Mr Mills has shed light on how trivial idiosyncratic interactions are not only integral to Terrace life, but the human condition. Without them, our minds would be unable to escape the constant cycle of concern – be it our concern for exams in the Terrace context, or current affairs in a broader sense. 

So, in concluding my third instalment of Captains’ Corner, I will leave you with the saying which I have repeated four times, and now, a fifth: 

Nothing more, nothing less.

Until next time, take care.