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March 29, 2024, 05:46:25 am

Author Topic: The ephemerality of VCE  (Read 9052 times)

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mango8

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The ephemerality of VCE
« on: January 04, 2019, 06:49:46 pm »
+27
long post ahead so grab a glass of iced tea/a smoothie/juice/cordial/good old H2O (whatever you fancy), flop onto a comfy chair/bed along with your dog/cat/rabbit/guinea pig/stuffed toy (don’t pretend you don’t have a stuffed toy, yes especially some of you) and join me on this adventure!

Hey there everyone! After obsessively scouring people’s journals for a while now, I thought hey maybe I’ll give it a go! I have no idea what I’m doing in life here as this is my first post! I think it’ll be amazing to look back in two, five, ten, twenty years and see how far I’ve come and laugh at every stupid thing I’ve done especially when the revelation hits me that what is the pinnacle of my life now, won’t even matter in a few years. At this point, I’m using it as motivation to stop ignoring the current mound of work that has vastly accumulated which I have to finish within the next 20 days. But, I have realised that procrastinating is pointless because I will eventually have to chain myself to my desk knuckle down and do it, feeling an unreasonable amount of stress than if I’d just done it to start out with. As a Year 12, I envision myself to be walking around like a character from the Walking Dead all the time except I’ll be a living incarnation of one.

On the first day, this is the ‘pep talk’ I imagine we shall receive: “Welcome back to the worst year of your lives, I have to tell you upfront, many don’t survive. You'll soon realise the world isn’t all about you, now it revolves around SACs and marks and grades and rankings and practice papers and exams and pressure from peers and parents and teachers and yourself and constant panic and everlasting stress and sleeping at 3am and studying at a rate doctors would balk at and all these twelve years coming down to numbers that make or break you but that’s your life for the next ten months, so suck it up sweetie."

I’ll be attempting to keep afloat in this tsunami, and welcome anyone and everyone to join me in this sacrifice odyssey with your own experiences, emotions, thoughts, reflections, the bright and the dark, and emerge alive, as survivors and triumphant in December 2019, never succumbing to an inevitable fate giving up.

For the rest of these holidays, I’ll be updating every few days or maybe even everyday (so keep those eyes peeled) with what’s happening in my life, however mundane or exciting. However, once school starts, I will check in with you guys every week (can be more or less frequently depending on the monstrosity that is my to-do list).

okay onto my subjects:
lit - I used to read all the time before VCE consumed my existence and have always loved reading and writing, so this was a no brainer, however, arriving at the pinnacle of sophistication and finesse that one must possess in lit, is another story.
revs - I am a huge history nerd and have been passionate about it since the start, and I’ve already started reading about the Russian and French revolutions and have been engrossed. If you tell me: ‘History is in the past, it doesn’t matter now and isn't relevant, why bother?’ Or something along those lines, I’ll gladly show you to the door. Only joking, not really. Once again, actually reaching the standard required for essays can only be achieved by actually writing those essays and scrutinising other people’s astounding writing. Who knew?
geo - I quite enjoyed geo in Year 9 so on a whim, thought why not try it out? Kids, you should totally make decisions in VCE on a whim. Humanities subjects are the best, mainly because it’s all about what’s happening in our world and we can actually learn about things we can apply to the real world and people/events who shaped it into what it is today. Essentially, what you learn in these subjects are actually relevant as they focus on things happening all around you. Unlike some subjects….ahem...such as
methods - the only way to succeed is to have an understanding of the concepts and be able to put it into practice. Paying attention in class is challenging when you're bored out of your mind, but I will push on and see results
chem - find it to be bland and uninteresting but may need it and think it's best to have a wide range of subjects so I will invest time and see it all pay off in the end

Note: Exaggeration is all in good fun and humour. Everyone’s journey is their own, and filled with many ups and downs, but remember that at the end of the day, you are doing VCE for you only, not for anyone else.

Yesterday I saw Mary Poppins Returns! I am yet to see the original so can’t give any comparison, however, I enjoyed it for the whimsical, feel-good movie it was, as well as a chance to temporarily be transported to another world.

Don’t forget to bring your dazzling selves back for some more spicy and exciting insights into my life!

Au revoir x
« Last Edit: February 19, 2019, 04:27:14 pm by mango8 »

Bri MT

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2019, 08:30:39 pm »
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Hey,

Welcome to ATARnotes (or posting on here at least)!
I hope that you found writing this journal to be a useful outlet & that when all of this is suddenly over you enjoy looking back and reading it :)

Yeah, for a lot of people year 12 is a pretty tough, pretty intense year - but the passage of time is inevitable and it does end. I went through my share of breakdowns in yr 12, but I do have to say that the picture you paint is more bleak than what I experienced. For one, the latest I stayed up for schoolwork would've been in the pm rather than the am (& I got a 98 atar at an underrep school). Of course, there are year 12s who stay up studying at 3am but that doesn't have to be you; it's not too late forge healthier habits and address any penchant for procrastination. I would also say that sometimes sleep is more beneficial than the study, and sleep deprivation can be a vicious cycle - if you choose to stay up late I advise caution. Anyway, point is that you have more control over the quality of your year than you probably realise - even if you haven't practiced exercising that.

What are you planning on doing after year 12 that means you need methods and chem?


Best of luck on the rollercoaster, and welcome again to AN - it's good to have you here :)

mango8

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2019, 12:19:43 pm »
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Thank-you! Exactly, when you really think about it, the time truly will fly by and before you know it, what has been the centre of your life for all these months is suddenly over and won't be something you have to think or worry about again, because it just doesn't matter. My portrayal is a combination of things people have told me and some things I've already experienced. I agree, sleep is for the most part is far more beneficial to you, your work, and your physical and mental health and only if your mind and body are in check, will you be able to perform your very best. Also, it's true, we often forget that we are only in control of ourselves, no one can dictate our lives, we have to listen to ourselves, as you know yourself best and this is your journey (whatever that may be). I've found that being open-minded and hearing people out is great, but you need to be who you want to be and stop worrying about things out of your control, you are only wasting your energy and time. 

As for what I want to pursue after Year 12, I have some ideas in mind but have not completely settled on what exactly I plan to do.

Enjoy your weekend! :)

mango8

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2019, 07:08:41 pm »
+8
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« Last Edit: February 19, 2019, 04:28:45 pm by mango8 »

Caitlynk_22

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2019, 12:06:47 am »
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Hi,

Your entries so far have made me smile from ear to ear. Keep up the good work and remember to not let school bog down all those other fun activities with friends even if it's close to exams/assessments. I know that at the end of my HSC I wanted to go back and spend more time with my own friends. Now we're squishing it all in before they all go off to uni!

Anyway, Good luck!
2018 - HSC - My HSC Journal 2018
2019 - Gap Year - Cert 3 @ TAFE My Gap Year Journal
2020 - 2022 B of Design (Architecture) @ UoN My University Journal

mango8

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #5 on: January 12, 2019, 08:19:40 pm »
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Hey there,

I am so glad you have enjoying reading all of my ramblings. What would you tell us Year 12s based on your experience (any advice, regrets)? Yes we have to make the most of every second, each moment should be one we can treasure. All the best for you at Uni!

sarangiya

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #6 on: January 12, 2019, 08:46:47 pm »
+1
Absolutely memetastic! Can't wait to hear more
Sometimes you make choices, and sometimes choices make you.

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Sarangiya's 사랑하는 VCE Journal
Is Repeating a VCE Subject Worth It?

mango8

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2019, 10:18:03 pm »
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Hey Sarangiya,

Your journal was one of my favourite journals to read, I recall just whizzing through it! Your effort and work ethic was prevalent and so motivating to see, particularly for us younglings embarking on this crazy ride this year! What are your aspirations and hopes for this year? What are you looking forward to the most? All the best for 2019, I'm sure you'll have enormous successes and rise to the top, congratulations on your many accomplishments thus far.:) Make sure to update us on how that journey goes!

Macrophagee

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2019, 10:34:59 pm »
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Hey mango8
Just want to say your entries are pretty funny so far! Can't wait to hear more

Good luck :)

mango8

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2019, 08:42:02 pm »
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Hey mango8
Just want to say your entries are pretty funny so far! Can't wait to hear more

Good luck :)

Hi there,

It's great to hear that you have been enjoying my journal entries! Hope you have a fantastic weekend! :)
« Last Edit: February 19, 2019, 04:45:25 pm by mango8 »

mango8

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #10 on: January 17, 2019, 08:54:06 pm »
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Hey all!

Twelve days until I am officially in Year 12!!!! Seriously I can not believe it. I was asked how it felt to know I have only one year of high school left, and when I really thought about it, I realised it just hasn’t sunk in yet. And it’s true, it doesn’t feel real, as if it’s truly about to happen to me, and I presume it only will hit me like an oncoming tsunami like I described in my first post, its impact sudden, powerful, turbulent, with no time to prepare or react but just keep hustling and giving my all.

Today I finished the majority of my Revs homework, which consisted of powerpoints, videos, note taking, definitions and textbook questions. I know, riveting stuff, but history subjects are content heavy and that’s what it’ll be most of the time. Although, I have found some exciting books and movies set during the revolutions, which I can’t wait to read/watch, don’t we all love a subject where we feel productive by watching movies?

I still have a never ending pile of work for my other subjects, namely for Methods. Wait I'm doing Methods? Ah Methods. The subject I hastily thrust aside for a large part of these holidays, and now its merciless self has come back to haunt me. Why oh why do I make stupid mistakes like this, for example COMPLETELY overlooking the fact there were 12, yes twelve exercises to do over the holidays??? Twelve days left, twelve exercises, year twelve. My new most despised number. So far, all I’ve done for geo is keep up to date with current affairs, or in other words, watch the news i.e.: nothing.

Once school starts I think it’ll be much easier to be focused and disciplined. I doubt you can get away with not doing work some days like in all the previous years you could afford to pretend school didn’t exist sometimes. I think it’s really important with these final less than two weeks of holidays to start almost mimicking school days, so that you won’t be thrown completely off-guard and find yourself struggling to adjust to the new life of heightened intensity and ominous deadlines and study and revision when the time arrives.

Here’s something I found really exciting, you know that scene in Mary Poppins Returns where she falls backwards in the bathtub to a magical land? If you want to know how they pulled it off, check this out: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/new-movies/secret-behind-dazzling-mary-poppins-scene-stuns-fans/news-story/a337e9c7ec18b0211680d135bd7b088a. I guarantee your mind will be blown!

« Last Edit: February 19, 2019, 04:29:25 pm by mango8 »

lyristis

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #11 on: January 19, 2019, 02:51:45 pm »
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Wow, you and Dylan are basically me and my friend! Do you go to different schools?
I've only got one friend to talk to about musicals and theatre. She absolutely LOVES Freddie and Queen is one of her top bands. I really relate to you having a friend who's super talented, because my friend just opens her mouth and sounds delightful while I only sound good to myself with earphones in. I like to say that I was I was blessed with a passion for musicals, yet cursed with an inability to sing  :P. I feel like her and I are the only people in our school that appreciate music that's before the '00s and '10s (like 60s-90s). The 3 of you are way more artistic and gifted than me, but I really do enjoy watching musicals via bootlegs shh despite my nonexistent skills in acting and singing. By the way, when you refer to musicals do you mean movie or stage musicals? I've personally only watched a handful of movie ones but waaaay more stage ones. Also, I 100% ship you and Dylan.

Can definitely relate with methods and chem; they both give me a headache but I need them as safety nets. I also still have so much work to do because of my great decision to procrastinate for the majority of the holidays. It sounds like you start on the 29th, is that the case? I'm starting on the 31st. :'(

It was fun reading your updates, looking forward to more!

mango8

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #12 on: January 27, 2019, 12:30:24 am »
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Thanks so much for reading! Have a good rest over these few remaining days.
« Last Edit: February 19, 2019, 04:31:02 pm by mango8 »

mango8

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #13 on: January 27, 2019, 12:56:45 am »
+4
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« Last Edit: February 19, 2019, 04:31:35 pm by mango8 »

Yertle the Turtle

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Re: The ephemerality of VCE
« Reply #14 on: January 27, 2019, 01:10:55 am »
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I'm loving your journal so far, it's really in-depth and philosophical, which I love. Good luck this year, I look forward to more insights on life, the universe and everything. where included in everything is, dare I say it, love Year 12?
2017-2018: VCE
Methods | Specialist | Physics | Chemistry | English | Texts and Traditions

2019: B. Eng (Hons) | Monash
2019-?: Certificate III  in Bricklaying and Blocklaying

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