G’day, Calebark – thanks for joining us for this article. How are things?

No worries at all, glad to be here. Things are pretty swell around here, thanks for asking.

Too easy! Let’s get started with a pretty standard question: what subjects did you do in VCE?

I took Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Further Mathematics, and English for Yr 12. I also took 1/2 HHD, which I didn’t continue with, and a few months of University Extension before I stopped it.

Nice mix. What did you want to do after Year 12 throughout high school?

Thanks, I picked it myself! Throughout both primary school and high school, I was absolutely sure on entering medicine after school. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get involved in research or practice, but I did know I was super keen in figuring it out. I even spent quite a while studying for the UMAT.

And is that something you’re still interested in?

It’s something I’m still interested in, but it’s not the goal. Medicine is a career I’m juggling with, along with education and boundless other paths I haven’t even discovered yet. Nowadays, my future for after Year 12 is less about a direct career path, and more about trying to discover what I love most and then working from there. I’ll be studying a Bachelor of Science next year, which is a lot more general than medicine, so I’m already on that path.

Very cool! Could you tell us a little about your Year 12 experience in general? How did you find it?

Well, to start off, I actually underwent Yr 12 in two years rather than one. My first year was very unusual, while my second was much more typical, so I’ll go through both of them.

So, I’d ended up splitting my Yr 12 as due to a series of very unfortunate events, I was homeless. In my first year, I ended up keeping Biology and Physics, as these were my most enjoyable subjects. I didn’t find the content itself difficult, but keeping up with schoolwork most definitely was. My attendance was somewhere below 30%, so my teacher interaction was limited. I was moving around constantly, so studying was difficult. Whenever I had actual time to sit down and study, I was usually too mentally exhausted to actually do anything, resulting in most SACs just being a result of cramming the night or morning before the task. Right before my VCAA exams, I ended up being hospitalised for pneumonia, which made exams even more difficult. Fortunately, however, a close friend’s family ended up taking me in for the weeks before, during, and a bit after exam time, so it made things easier. I actually didn’t find the exams as stressful as I thought. Exams aren’t nearly as scary as SACs are, which is an odd thought. The night before results, I was expecting to get below 30 study scores. I ended up nabbing a 34 raw in Physics and a 39 raw in Biology.

high school success

My second year was much more normal, as I had a house by this time. I had a great deal of difficulty getting into a study habit — I suppose this shows the value of forming things before your final year. For the first term, I was more of a crammer. After this, I’d gotten into a bit of a habit, where I was attending (most) of my classes, and studying regularly for my SACs. I found this year much easier than my previous year. My VCE experience here was pretty normal. At this point, I found VCE somewhat ‘easy’ (com
pared to last year’s experiences), so I didn’t find it particularly stressful. As long as I went to my classes, did a bit of study, and kept my hand up for questions, I found all the content easy to manage. The one exception was my university extension subject, which I dropped early in the year, as while the content was more enjoyable than my other subjects, it was very time-consuming and was eating into too much time used to take care of myself. I found this year quite satisfying. I appreciated the journey a bit more, so at the end, I wasn’t too fussed at the end result — I didn’t even end up checking my scores this time!

Getting through VCE at all with those circumstances, let alone doing well, is a great effort. Do you think your experiences through Year 12 have impacted the way you’ll approach your degree next year? Or, more generally, how have they impacted you more generally?

Thank you. It’s definitely impacted both the way I approach my degree and, well, everything else in life. It’s provided me with a bit of a big-picture outlook on life. I can see that life is so much more than getting top marks, and that life extends beyond what I’m experiencing in the present. It sounds obvious, but it’s not something I understood perfectly in high school. To phrase it another way, given that schooling isn’t the centre of my life, my time shouldn’t just be focused on that.

Afterwards, I’ll still have hobbies to pursue, relationships to keep, and health to look after, so it’s imperative I don’t put all of these things on hold while I study. As I approach my degree next year, I’ll be ensuring it’s only one part of my life, not my whole life. I think it’s much healthier that way. It’s made me so much more keen.

high school success story

That’s really great perspective. Definitely agree. How are you spending your time this year?

My time is split between a few different things. One of them is working part-time, both to keep myself occupied and so I can save up enough money to move closer to uni next year and live comfortably. Next up is working on keeping my mental wellbeing up — psych sessions, GP visits, group therapies, things like that, which occupies a large chunk of time. Next is mainly me-time, which is a first for me. I’m trying to read a new book every week, exercise more, learn new recipes, improve my drawing ability, stuff like that. Lastly (and perhaps most importantly) is spending too much time on ATAR Notes! It’s a self-centred gap year, which I am perfectly happy with.

Just before we finish up, do you have any general advice for current high school students?

In a few years, your best memories won’t be about putting in a few more hours for that extra 5%. It’s fantastic to aim high in your studies, and it’s fine to continue doing that, but you need to make sure you’re living, rather than just working. Lastly, never miss an opportunity to pat a puppy.